-
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Required King John of England to proclaim certain rights, respect certain legal procedures, and accept that his will could be bound by law. It was one of the most significant early influence that led to the rule of the constitutional law today in the English speaking world. -
Jamestown Settles
Three ships landed containing a total of 104 men and boys. The colonists chose this site, they named Jamestown Island, to settle. -
Mayflower Compact
The first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. -
Petition of Right
A statement of civil liberties sent by English Parliament to Charles I. -
English Bill of Rights
A statement of certain rights that the authors believed that citizens and/or residents of a free and democratic society ought to have. -
Albany Plan of Union
Benjamin Franklin proposed this plan to unify colonies. It was proposed in Albany, New York at the Albany Congress -
Stamp Act
Was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper. These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British troops. The legal aftermath of which helped spark the rebellion in some of the British American colonies, which culminated in the American Revolutionary War. -
Boston Tea Party
342 cases of tea were dumped into the Boston harbor because people were protesting that the taxes on the tea was too high. The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act. -
American Revolution Begins
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. -
First Continental Congress
Took place in Philadelphia's Carpenters Hall. A convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies. -
Intolerable Acts
Series of five laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 relating to Britain's colonies in North America. The acts triggered outrage and resistance in the Thirteen Colonies that later became the United States, and were important developments in the growth of the American Revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
Was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies. The second congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved slowly towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence. -
Dec laration of Independence
Announcement that stated that the thirteen American colonies, which were at war with Great Britain, were now independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. -
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the U.S. Specified how the national government was to operate. -
Shays Rebellion
The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolution. A strike against the government taxes that were unfair to farmers. -
Connecticut Compromise
An agreement between the large and small states. It proposed that there are two legislatives, resulting in the current United States Senate and House of Representatives -
Philadelphia Convention
The Convention was intended only to revise the Articles of Confederation, but many wanted to create a new government rather than to attempt to address the problems of the existing one. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution.
