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Period: Jan 1, 1200 to
1200-1800
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Jan 1, 1215
The Signing of the Magna Carta
Great Charter forced upon King John of England by his barons in 1215: Established that the power of the monarchy was not absolute and guaranteed trial by jurt and due process of law to the nobility -
Jamestown settled
Jamestown settled by the group from Europe known as the Virginia Company. -
Mayflower Compact Written
The Mayflower Compact is a written agreement composed by a consensus of the new Settlers arriving at New Plymouth in November of 1620. They had traveled across the ocean on the ship Mayflower which was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Mayflower Compact was drawn up with fair and equal laws, for the general good of the settlement and with the will of the majority. -
Petition of Right
Document prepared by parliament and signed by King charles of England in 1628; Challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land -
English Bill of Rights
Document prepared by parliament and agreed on by William and Mary of England in 1689, designed to prevent the abuse of power by English monarchs; forms the basis for much in American government and politics -
Albany Plan of Union
Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 12 colonies for trade, militart, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the crown. -
Stamp Act
a law passed by the British Parliament requiring all publications and legal and commercial documents in the American colonies to bear a tax stamp (1765): a cause of unrest in the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
a riot in Boston (March 5, 1770) arising from the resentment of Boston colonists toward British troops quartered in the city, in which the troops fired on the mob and killed several persons. -
Boston Tea Party
In 1773 the East India Company was allowed to export dutied tea directly to America. A group of men disguised as ‘Mohawks or Indians’ ‘emptied every chest of tea’ on board three ships into Boston harbour on 16 December 1773 -
First Continental Congress
Was in session from September 5 to October 26, 1774, to petition the British government for a redress of grievances -
Intolerable Acts
a series of laws passed by the British in 1774 in an attempt to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party -
Second Continental Congress
existed from May 10, 1775, to 1789, and issued the declaration of independence and established the Articles of Confederation -
American Revolution begins
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Declaration of Independance
the public act by which the Second Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776, declared the Colonies to be free and independent of England. -
Articles of Confederation
the first constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States. -
Shay's Rebellion
An uprising led by a former militia officer, Daniel Shays, which broke out in western Massachusetts in 1786. Shays's followers protested the foreclosures of farms for debt and briefly succeeded in shutting down the court system. Although the rebellion was easily overcome, it persuaded conservatives of the need for a strong national government and contributed to the movement to draft the Constitution. -
Connecticut Compromise
a compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention, providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.
