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Jan 1, 1000
Sir John Blackstone commentaries on the laws of england
It was developed from the roman law. It was the first methodical treatise on the common law since at least the Middle Ages. Blackstone made it seem rational, just, and inevitable that things should be how they were.The Commentaries were long regarded as the leading work on the development of English law and played a role in the development of the American legal system. -
Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
It's considered the bill of rights for medieval England, it was not heavily enforced for several centuries. It freedom of the church, and other clauses which s changed the face of England forever, by establishing that the King was not above the law.Magna Carta contained several clauses which were influential on the development of similar bills of rights, like the first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution. Among these were the right to habeas corpus protecting the freedom of church. -
Jan 1, 1265
Parliament Established
English Parliament progressively limited the power of the English monarchy. After the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, the supremacy of parliament was a settled principle Later British sovereigns were restricted to the role of constitutional monarchs with limited executive authority. It merged with Parliament of Scotland becoming Parliament of Great Britain then to Paliament of United Kingdom.British parliament has become a model for other national legislatures like the U.S. -
Period: Oct 1, 1500 to
separation of powers
This was first developed in ancient Greece and used by the Roman Republic as part of the uncodified Constitution of the Roman Republic. Under this model, the state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. -
Period: Oct 1, 1500 to
Iroqouis confederation
The original Iroquois League was the Five Nations, composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations.Iroquois Confederacy was the decentralized political and diplomatic entity that emerged in response to European colonization. It influenced by the simple rules of life, liberty, and happiness found in the Declaration of Independence government by reason and consent rather than coercion and religious tolerance. -
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colonial legislature
Colonial legislatures had a great deal of power including the ability to muster troops, levy taxes and pass laws. They became used to these perogatives and were unwilling to relinquish these rights when Great Britain decided to return to the scene. these legistatures had already created independent thinkers quite capable of self-government. This was the key to independance. -
Mayflower Compact signed
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, known as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Almost half of the colonists were part of a separatist group seeking the freedom to practice Christianity according to their own determination and not according to the English Church. It influenced the U.S. by saying we were all made equal. -
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Written constitution
laws that a set of people have made and agreed for government that enumerates, limits the powers, functions of a political entity and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of a government. -
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New England confederation approved
New England Confederation, was a political and military alliance of the English colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Its primary purpose was to unite the Puritan colonies against the Native Americans. This provided a basis for the further collaboration of Colonies in the American Revolution. -
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
The book Leviathan established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory -
English Bill of rights
The English Bill of Rights 1689 inspired in large part the United States Bill of Rights.Is an act declaring the rights and liberties of the people and succesion of the crown -
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John Locke two treatises of government
is a work of political philosophy. The First Treatise attacks patriarchalism in the form of sentence by sentence and the Second Treatise outlines a theory of political or civil society based on natural rights and contract theory. -
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Enlightenment
Is the era in Western philosophy where intellectual, scientific, and cultural life, centered upon the 18th century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority. -
Albany Plan
Albany Plan was proposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress. It was an attempt at forming a union of the colonies under one government as far as might be necessary during the French and Indian War. This was a first step at uniting colonies -
Baron de Montesque on the spirit of laws
articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for granted in modern discussions of government and used in many constitutions throughout the world. -
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First Continental Congress meets
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia's Carpenters Hall it failed to gain much support until after the Port of Boston was closed in response to the Boston Tea Party.It didnt advocate independence instead it wanted to right the wrongs that had been inflicted on the colonies and hoped that a unified voice would gain them a hearing in London. -
second continental congress meets
Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies it managed the colonial war effort by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the Congress acted as the de facto national government of what became the United States and adopted the United States Declaration of Independence -
Common law
Originated in England and which was latter adopted in the U.S. law evolved by judges from precedent and custom as opposed to statute law -
Declaration of Independence signed
Britain gave U.S. Independence and allowed it to started its own nation -
Period: to
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America and specified how the national government was to operate. -
constitutional Convention Meets
The convention helped the U.S make money since they were bankrupt. New powers were granted to Congress to regulate the economy, currency, and the national defense -
Period: to
Ratification of the constitution
The constitution was finally legit after a while of arguement and many steps it had to go through to be accepted. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendmentsis and its a series of limitations on the power of the United States Federal government, protecting the natural rights of personal and intellectual liberty and of property -
Social Contract
It is when the people give up sovereignty to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order through the rule of law. It can also be thought of as an agreement by the governed on a set of rules by which they are governed.