Major Events for Early American Government

By tyler.coffman
  • Sep 3, 1215

    Magna Carta

    The first attempt by the govern to limit the powers of the King in England.

  • Settlement of Jamestown

    The first colony established by the English on American soil.

  • Mayflower Compact

    First governing document of the Plymoth Document.

  • Petition of Right

    A major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing.

  • English Bill of Rights

    Passed by Parliament, it included but was not limited to the rights to petition the monarch and to have arms in defence.

  • Albany Plan of Union

    Delegates from most of the northern colonies and representatives from the Six Iroquois Nations met in Albany, New York, to adopt a plan of unionizing the colonies.

  • Stamp Act

    An act of English Parliament to tax all paper goods in America.

  • Boston Massacre

    The killing of 5 colonist by British regulars.

  • Boston Tea Party

    A direct action by colonists in Boston against the British government.

  • First Continental Congress

    A convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen original colonies.

  • Intolerable Acts

    A series of acts including spending money, repealing taxes, and evacuating British troops after the Boston Massacre.

  • Beginning of American Revolution

    The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire.

  • Second Continental Congress

    The second congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence.

  • Declaration of Independence

    Statement adopted by Congress that announced the thirteen original colonies to be independent from British rule.

  • Articles of Confederation

    First constitution of the United States of America.

  • Shays' Rebellion

    Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts (mainly Springfield) from 1786 to 1787.

  • Philadelphia Convention

    55 delegates from the several states met to frame a Constitution for a federal republic.

  • Connecticut Compromise

    Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth created a compromise for a two-part legislature consisting of a lower and upper house.

  • Constitution Convection

    Ratifying the constitution, it started in Delaware.