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1215
Magna Carta
Began in 1215 when King John signed Magna Carta; Moved from rule of man to rule of law; Outlined individual rights which king could not violate; Included taxation & trial provisions. -
Jamestown House of Burgesses
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Mayflower Compact
Each charter guaranteed colonists the “rights of Englishmen.” -
Petition of Right
Required monarchs to obtain Parliamentary approval before new taxes; Government could not unlawfully imprison people or establish military rule during times of peace. -
English Bill of Rights
Guaranteed free speech & protection from cruel & unusual punishment. -
Sugar Act
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Stamp Act
First direct tax on paper goods & legal documents; Stamp Act Congress met to protest the tax & it was repealed. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers fired into crowd; 5 colonists died. -
Boston Tea Party
Revolutionaries dumped British Tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
Quartering of British troops. -
Declaration of Independence
The centrality of the Declaration of Independence to the developments of the 1770s is self-evident. The American Revolution’s pursuit of liberty was made meaningful by the founding document of the great American experiment in democracy. -
Articles of Confederation
First National Government; Delegates aimed to have a confederation in which colonies kept their “sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”; Ratification delayed by argument over who would control western lands. -
Shay’s Rebellion
Massachusetts farmers rebelled over prospect of losing land; Farmers attacked courthouses to keep judges from foreclosing on farms; Stormed military arsenal. -
Northwest Ordinance
Established a plan for settling the Northwest Territory; Included disputed lands; Created system for admitting states to the Union; Banned slavery in the territory; Guided nation’s western expansion. -
The Constitutional Convention
Drafting a New Constitution. -
Judiciary Act
Established a Three-tiered Judicial Structure
1. District courts
2. Circuit courts
3. Supreme Court -
Federalist paper Gazette of the U.S. published
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Period: to
Dual Federalism
Both state and national governments were equal authorities operating within their own spheres of influence; Strict reading; National government only had powers listed in Constitution.
(Enumerated Powers) -
Whigs countered with National Gazette
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Whiskey Rebellion
As the new country began finding its feet, U.S. Pres. George Washington sent troops to western Pennsylvania in 1794 to quell the Whiskey Rebellion, an uprising by citizens who refused to pay a liquor tax that had been imposed by Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton to raise money for the national debt & to assert the power of the national government -
Marbury v. Madison
Power of judicial review. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Territory, the huge swath of land (more than 800,000 square miles) that made up the western Mississippi basin, passed from French colonial rule to Spanish colonial rule & then back to the French before U.S. Pres. Thomas Jefferson pried it away from Napoleon in 1803 for a final price of some $27 million. -
12th Amendment
allows the President to choose V.P. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
"Power to tax is the power to destroy" -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Right of a state legislature to award a monopoly to operate a steamship line between NY and NJ; Court said only Congress has the right to regulate commerce between states. -
Seneca Falls Convention
First national woman's rights convention in the US. Called for equal rights in voting, education, and property. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott- Slave who sued for his and his family's freedom after being taken to a free state. Court said that Scott, as an African-American and previously property, was not a citizen. Gave him no legal standing to sue. Called the “greatest disaster” of the Supreme Court. -
Morrill Act
Granted large tracts of land to states; states sold land and used money for colleges. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Ended Chinese immigration to the US. -
17th Amendment
Direct election of Senators -
16th Amendment
Gave Congress authority to set a federal income tax. -
Radio became the first form of electronic media
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Native Americans granted citizenship
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Period: to
Cooperative Federalism
States and national governments worked together to deal with the Great Depression; Many cases about FDR's New Deal reached the Supreme Court. -
United States v. Miller
Ruled 2nd Amendment does not protect the right to have all types of weapons. -
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
The Supreme Court ruled that a child could be expelled for refusing to salute the American flag or recite the pledge (these actions violated the child’s religious beliefs) -
United States v. Darby
Upheld Fair Labor Standards Act; Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate employment conditions. -
Executive Order 9066
FDR required all people of Japanese descent on the West Coast to report to "War Relocation Centers" (internment camps).
120,000 left their homes and businesses and 80,000 remained in camps until the war was over. -
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
The court reversed itself and decided unity was not a sufficient reason to overrule religious beliefs. -
Korematsu v. the United States
Upheld involuntary internment of ethnically Japanese American citizens. -
Television replaced radio as most influential electronic media
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Brown v. Board
Ruled segregation is illegal; "Separate is inherently unequal." -
Equal Pay Act
Established equal pay for men and women. -
Edwards v. South Carolina
187 African-American students gathered at the state capitol to protest racial injustice; Students did not end the protest when police told them to and were arrested; Court said the state had no authority to disperse the students, as they were protesting legally. -
Period: to
Great Society
Government program to eliminate poverty and social inequality; Johnson created creative federalism, which released national funds to achieve national goals. -
Civil Rights Act
Outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Miranda v. Arizona
Expanded rights of people accused of crimes. -
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Protects applicants and employees of 40+ years old from discrimination based on age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, privileges, etc. of employment. -
Loving V. Virginia
Struck down all state laws banning interracial marriage. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Schools couldn’t prevent students from protesting the Vietnam War. -
War Powers Resolution
President must consult with Congress before sending troops; Congress can force the president to end use of military with a concurrent resolution. -
New Federalism
Returned some authority to state governments -
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
Established the rationale for qualified immunity -
Tennessee v. Garner
Limited police use of lethal force -
Graham v. Connor
Juries must consider if the officer believed force was reasonable -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. -
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996
Increased border control; easier to deport undocumented aliens, increased penalties for smuggling people into the country. -
Homeland Security
Reorganization of agencies already in place; Law enforcement; Border security; Transportation
