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Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown is the first English settlement in North America. In Jamestown's early years, it faced severe hardships, disease and hunger, but they survived. The settlers hoped to find gold and establish a colony. King James | granted a charter to the Virginia company of London. A charter is a document granting the recipient the right to settle a colony. -
Virginia House of Burgesses
The Virginia House of Burgesses was the 1st representative assembly in the colonies. Colonists elected representatives to make laws and protect their rights. It served as a model for a representative government. -
Mayflower Compact
The pilgrims wanted to come to America to practice their religion the way they wanted to. The Mayflower Compact used self-government for the first time in America. The purpose of the Mayflower Compact was to help provide a model for developing a representative government. Its purpose was to establish rules. -
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written Constitution in the colonies. It established the governments structure. it stated that all (white) men can vote, not just church members.It was written by Thomas Hooker. -
First Great Awakening
The first Great Awakening was a religious movement. It is when the colonists started to believe that God viewed everyone as equal and not just the preacher could hear from God. Two of the influential ministers were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. Some ideas that were spread throughout the colonies were to have greater religious freedom. Some of the effects of the First Great Awakening was that people started to join them and their religion went up. -
French and Indian War
The French and British were fighting over the Ohio River Valley because they both wanted the land (Ohio) and it was an important trading spot. Many Native American Tribes joined forces with France, because they knew them and had already been friends and trading partners. The British were in debt and they wanted money so they taxed the colonists. -
Proclamation of 1763
King George ||| issued the proclamation of 1783 to keep peace with Native Americans and avoid conflict/war. The Proclamation of 1763 was made to prohibit colonies from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains and it gave Native Americans the right to land. The colonists were angry and did not think the King had the right to restrict them from moving west. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a tax on almost all printed materials. Colonists protested the Stamp Act by threats of violence and they boycotted. The Sons of Liberty was a secret society that protested British policies and sometimes used violence to get their message across. As a result of the protests/boycotts business in Britain began to lose money and demand the Stamp Act to be canceled. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act makes people house and feed British soldiers. Colonists did not like the Quartering Act because it was expensive, the soldiers were invading their privacy, and they soldiers could take anything they wanted to. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were taxes on items such as imported glass, tea, and paper. The colonists and Daughters and Sons of Liberty responded to the Acts by boycotting them and making their own rather than purchasing them. They were also replaced. -
Boston Massacre
Colonists that argued with British soldiers had shots fired to them. Crispus Attucks was an African American who is considered the first casualty of the Revolution. John Adams chose to defend the British soldiers in the infamous trial to demonstrate the value of the right to a trial by jury for all citizens. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was led by the Sons of Liberty. They dressed as Native Americans and in the night they dumped over 340 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor. This was an act of civil disobedience. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act made the British East India Company the only company allowed to sell tea. This was considered a monopoly. Colonists were upset because they had to pay tax and they didn't want to buy certain tea, they wanted the ability to choose. The colonists refused to unload and sell tea and they stopped drinking it. -
Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, King George was furious, they realized they were losing control of the colonies. The Intolerable Acts stopped all trade between Britain and Boston(they closed the port). They also stopped town meetings and put more soldiers into colonists homes. -
First Continental Congress
The Intolerable Acts led to the formation and meeting of the Continental Congress. These delegates met to discuss their complaints against the British and to demand for fair treatment. Three actions of the Continental Congress were to ask King George to repeal as many acts of parliament and stop trade with them and they also called on the citizens of Massachusetts to arm their selves against the British. King George ||| responded to this by ignoring it and sending more soldiers. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord was the first battles of the Revolution. It is know as "the shot heard 'round the world". After these battles they declared independence. -
Second Continental Congress
After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. They wanted to get independence from England and to unite with the other colonies. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was created in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson to get independence from Great Britain. They believed they had unalienable rights. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was significant because it was considered to be the turning point of war. It was considered this because France decides to help/support the colonies. -
Winter at Valley Forge 1777-1778
Some challenges of this battle was that med died, the field was frozen, there was disease, starvation, and harsh freezing conditions. The significance of this battle is that Washington trained his men with military drills. They were ready to fight and they now had a professional army. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement of the 13 original states to serve as their Constitution. This had a very weak control of the government. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the American Revolution. The French helped the Americans defeat the British at Yorktown. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
This document officially ends the war. We now gained more land and our independence. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was caused because the US was facing significant war debts at the end of the American Revolution. All of the 13 states were able to agree on how to develop western lands acquired to in the Treaty of Paris. -
Constitution
The Constitution was created to establish a better plan for the government. It had 3 branches and 7 principles. It also had a list of rights for people called the Bill of Rights. -
Constitutional Convention
There was 2 ways for states to receive their power. The New Jersey Plan was supported by smaller states it was a one house legislature and wanted equal representation in Congress. The Virginia Plan was supported by larger states it was a two house legislature there was three branches of government and they wanted representation based on the population of the state. The Great Compromise solved this by using both methods. -
George Washington 1789-1797
George Washington was our first president. He served two terms. He made sure the US had national security, a stable economic system, authority of a central government, and a court system. When he was done with his presidency, he created a Farewell Address. He said not to form political parties, avoid sectionalism, and to not make permanent alliances. -
John Adams 1797-1801
John Adams was our second president. His political party was federalist. He has served as vice president for George Washington for 8 years before being elected. During his presidency, the French government began taking US ships that carried cargo to Britain. Frances actions led to the XYZ Affair. Following the XYZ Affair, congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. -
XYZ Affair 1797-1798
The French were taking American ships and stopping cargo from going to Britain. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts was four laws passed by Federalists. It made the process of becoming a immigrant to a citizen harder. It allowed the president to imprison who they want.
