Major Events for Early American Government

Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

The document accepted by King John of England in 1215 which contained a set of laws establishing the right of English barons.

Mayflower Compact written

Nov 11, 1602

Signed aboard the May-flower in 1620 by the ship's forty-one free adult men, served as the basis for Plymouth Colony's government throughout its history.

Jamestown settled

May 14, 1607

It was the First English colony in America to survive and become permanent. It was later the capital of Virginia and the site of the House of Burgesses.

Petition of Right

Sep 10, 1628

A statment of civil liberties sent by Parliment to Charles I complaing of a series of breches of law. It sought reginition of four principles.

English Bill of Rights

Sep 10, 1689

Bill of Rights A declaration of certain rights of subjects, enacted by the English Parliament in 1689

Albany Plan of Union

Jul 10, 1754

A plan proposed by Ben Franklin in 1754 in Albany, New York, It was an attempt at forming a union of the colonies.

Stamp Act

Nov 10, 1765

First direct British tax on American colonists. Instituted in November, 1765. Every newspaper, pamphlet, and other public and legal document had to have a Stamp, or British seal, on it.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1771

An outbreak in Boston against British troops, after provicated, in which a few citizens were killed.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

Incident in 1773 were Americans patriots dressed as Indians threw 342 chests of tea from three British ships into the harbor.

Intolerable Acts

Mar 24, 1774

Four punitive measures enacted by the British Parliament against the American colonies. They were an attempt to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

First Continental Congress

Sep 5, 1774

The First Continental Congress was a group of 56 delegates from 12 colonies who met in Philadelphia in September of 1774.

American Revolution beings

Apr 5, 1775

The war between the American colonies and Great Britain, leading to the formation of the independent United States.

Second Continental Congress

May 10, 1775

The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

the document recording the proclamation of the 2nd American Continental Congress asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

Articles of Confederation

Mar 1, 1781

An agreement made by the original 13 states in 1777 establishing a confederacy and, as well, indepentdence from Great Britian. Ratified in 1781.

Shay's Rebellion

Sep 10, 1786

An uprising by Massachusetts farmers led by former Revolutionary War leader, chief among them Daniel Shays, against the harsh treatment of debtors by the courts in 1786.

Philadelphia Convention

May 25, 1787

Assembly that drafted the Constitution of the United States. All states but Rhode Island sent delegates in response to a call by the Annapolis Convention for a meeting in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation.

Connecticut Compromise

Sep 10, 1787

Also known as the Great Compromise. It was a compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention, providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.

Constitutional Convention

Sep 15, 1787

Convention called in 1787 to discuss problems with the current government document, the Articles of Confederation. The result was a new form of government, the Constitution. Delegates from all over the colonies attended, and they struggled with competing concerns of large-population states and small-population states.