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Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was written by nobles that were tired of losing their power from King John. They came together and wrote these laws to give the king only certain powers. Some of these laws were used to write the Constitution. -
Jamestown Settled
English settlers arrived in the new world and settled in a place that they would call Jamestown. It was named after King James of England and was the first English colony in America. -
Mayflower Compact written
Many settlers established laws and rights. The Mayflower Compact was an agreement to establish a governemnt by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower ship that seld over to find freedom in religion -
Petition of Right
A statement of civil liberties sent by the English Parliament to Charles I. Refusal by Parliament to finance the king's unpopular foreign policy cause his government to exact forced loans and send troops to peoples hosues as an economy measure. -
English Bill of Rights
It was an Act of Parliament that was a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right. It layed down limits on the powers of sovereign and set out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament -
Albany Plan of Union
It was suggested by Benjamin Franklin. He wanted to unite the colonies under one government during the French and Indian War. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act ws tax that was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax for every piece of printed paper they used. It was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. -
Boston Massacre
The colonies were outraged that they were getting taxed. British troops were sent in. A group of colonist voice their opinion but were then killed. 5 people died and is considered the fatest massacre. -
Boston Tea Party
Angry and frustrated at a new tax on tea, American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into Boston harbor. -
Interable Acts
it was a series of laws sponsored by British Prime Minister Lord North. It was the harshest of Acts passed by Parliament. -
First Continetal Congress
It was a group of 56 delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies who met in Philadelphia. They came together to act together in response to the Intolerable Acts. They met in secret because they didn't want Great Britain to know that they were united. -
American Revolution Begins
The colonies were tired of being taxed by the British. the first shots were fired in Massachusetts and England and thw United States were at war now. -
Second Continental Congress
Things were going badly, and the armed forces were disorganized. The Continental Congress created the Continental Army and named George Washington as commander-in-chief. Out of the discussions came the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Marines Corps. -
Declaration of Independence
After the war started,the leaders of the war got together to write a letter to the King of England. The document would make the colonies a seperate and independent country. -
Articles of Confederation
The articles were written to give the colonies some sense of a unified government. The Articles made the states and legislature supreme. There was no executive branch. Judicial functions were very limited. -
Shay's Rebellion
Farmer Daniel Shays took charge of the New England Farmers group and led an attack on a federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts. Federal troops under Revolutionary War General Benjamin Lincoln came from Boston. Four men were killed and 20 wounded. Shays disappeared. -
Philadelphia Convention
More than fifty delegates from twelve of the original thirteen colonies met to begin writing the Constitution of the United States. The delegates there are sometimes called the "Founging Fathers." -
Constitution Convention
Delegates met in Philadelphia to write the Constitution. All ranging from 40 to 81 years old. Ben Franklin being the oldest. -
Connecticut Compromise
It is also called Sherman's Compromise or the Great Compromise of 1787. It was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution.
