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Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
An English charter, used to regulate the monarch's power. It required King John to respect certain liberties of the people. It was the first document forced onto an English King by his subjects. -
Jamestown settled
Jamestown was settled thirteen years before the Mayflower arrived and is the site of the first permanent English settlement. The founders were workers of the Virginia Company of London, and sent to expand trade and make a profit. -
Mayflower Compact written
The Mayflower began its journey to come to the New World to land on ground granted by the London Virginia Company. The Compact was the first governing document and written to explain that the colonists would settle in Massachusetts so they would not be bound by any British rule, but rather they would use thier "own liberty". -
Petition of Right
An English document that prohibited the king from infringing upon the rights of the subjects. The Petition of Rights was produced by the English Parliament after the English Civil War. It allowed only Parliament to levy taxes, martial law was not to be imposed in times of peace, and the writ of habeas corpus. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights were reiterating the Declaration of Right, which presented the rights of the subjects to the king. It declared that the people had the right to petition the monarch, have right to arms in defense, and the approval of the people to represent them in parliament. -
Albany Plan of Union
After the French and Indian War, Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan to the Albany Congress. It wold unite the colonies for reasons such as "defense and other general important purposes". -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act implemented a tax on most printed materials in the colonies. The tax was on things such as legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many others. The act imposed by Britain was in response to the debt due to the Seven Years' War. -
Boston Massacre
An incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British troops. The even was a result to heavy British military presence in Boston. Tension rose and a brawl between soldiers and civilians broke out. -
Boston Tea Party
A rebellion against the British government. It was in response to officials in Boston when they refused to take back the tea to Britian, since the citizens where not paying the tax. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts, also known as the Coercive Acts were a series of five laws passed by the British Parliament. They caused outrage in the colonies. Four of the acts were in response to the Boston Tea Party. The Parliament thought that these acts would make an example of Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress
A conventoin of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies, in Pennsylvania. The meeting was in response to the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) by Britain, and Congress was attepting to produce a petition to King George. The Congress discussed an econimc boycott of British trade. They also decided to meet one year later if their petition was unsuccessful, which it was. -
American Revolution begins
The American Revolution was a revolt against Britain. It rejected the authority of Parliament in Britian to govern the colonies. Britain responded by sending troops to impose its rule, thus the result was the American Revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had representatives from the Thirteen Colonies. It began soon after the American Revolutionary War. The delegates started by managing the war effort: raising armies, strategies, appointing diplomats and making formal treaties. They also moved toward adopting the United States Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was the formal explanation of why Congress decided to declare independence from Britain. The Declaration listed the grievances against King George, clarifying natural rights of the people. -
Articles of Confederation
This was the first constitution of the United States. It specified how the national government should operate. Created by the Second Continental Congress. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Massachusetts from 1786 and 1787. It was named after Daniel Shays, an American Revolution veter who led rebels. The rebellion was in response to the huge debt and taxes. The participants were poor farmers who could not pay and resulted in imprisonment or loss of property. -
Connecticut Comprimise
The Connecticut Comprimise was the agreement between large and small states that stated the representation each state would have under the United States Constitution. It was reached during the Constitutional Comprimise. The result of the comprimise is the Senate and the House of Representatives. -
Philadelphia Convention
The Philadelphia Convention meet from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Its initial intent was to address the problems of the Articles of Confederation, but some of the delegates wished to make a new government, instead of fixing the current one. So with George Washington leading the convention, the United States Constitution was made. -
Constitution Convention
The Constitutional Convention meet to draft the first constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation. With George Washington leading the convention, the delegates drafted a constitution for the new government.
