-
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta is Drafted
The Magna Carta is a document that King John of England was forced into signing. They forced him to sign it because it greatly reduced the power he held as the King of England and allowed the formation of a powerful parliament. The Magna Carta was the basis for the English citizen's rights. The Magna Carta was a collection of 37 English laws-some copied, some recollected, some old and some new. The Magna Carta was drafted by Archbishop Stephen Langton and most powerful Barons of England. -
Petition of Right is Drafted
In seventeenth century England, King Charles 1 broke up Parliament and ruled England on his own. Parliament member Sir Edward Coke presented the Petition of Right. The document cited the Magna Carta and reminded Charles 1 that the law gave the people their rights. His petition focused on Charle's violations of the law. The king accepted the Petition of Right, but soon broke his word and resumed the violations. The struggled resulted in a civil war and ended with the beheading of Charles in 1649. -
English Bill of Rights is Drafted
The English Bill of Rights was enacted by the English Parliament and signed into law by King William the second. It was written to limit the power of the English sovereign, and as an act of Parliament. The King and Queen William and Mary of Orange accepted the English Bill as a condition of their rule.The Bill of Rights said that Englishmen had certain alienable civil and political rights, although religious liberty was limited for non-protestants. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a new tax imposed on all American colonists that required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used, it was passed by the British Parliament. It angered the colonists because it was a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without approval. It was Parliament's first serious attempt to give governmental authority over the colonies. -
Townshend Duties
In 1767 the English Parliament cut the British land tax so to balance the budget Charles Townshend taxed the Americans to make up the difference. Taking advantage he put through a series of acts laying import duties at American ports on paper, lead, glass, and tea shipped from England. The money that was collected was used to pay the salaries of British colonial officials. In 1770, Parliament, led by a new ministry repealed all the Townshend Revenue Acts except for the tax on tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a fight fought in the street beween a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers.The riot began when about 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel, who was not welcome in the city of Boston. British officers fired into the mob killing 3 on the spot and wounding 8 others, two of whom died later. This was a signal event that lead to the Revolutionary war. -
The Tea Act
Parliament passing The Tea Act launched the final spark to the revolutionary movement in Boston. It was first designed to prop up the East India Company which was struggling financially and burdened with 18 million pounds of unsold tea. Cargoes of tea filled the harbor since nobody wanted the tea and the British ship's crews were stalled in Boston looking for work and often finding trouble. This led to The Boston Tea Party, -
1st Continental Congress
The 1st Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia from September 5, to October 26, 1774. Representatives came from all the colonies except Georgia. The convention was made to protest against the Intorable Acts because it had made the governor of Massachusetts a dictator and angered american colonists with his forceful acts. Some of the leaders were Samuel and John Adams of Massachussets and George Washington and Patrick Henry of Virginia. -
Common Sense was published (Thomas Payne)
Common Sense was published in 1776, it was a pamphlet that challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The language that Paine used to speak to the people of American was the first work to openly ask for independance from Great Britain, It was published anonymously at the beginning pf the American Revolution and was signed "written by an Englishman". -
2nd Continental Congress
The Congress met on May 10, 1776 in the State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Some of the new and returning delagates included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and its new president John Hancock. The Congress decided to completely break away from Great Britain and put the colonies in state of defense on May 15, 1776. Members of the 2nd Continental Congress wrote and signed The Declaration of Independance, John Hancock being the first and biggest. -
Declaration of Independance Signed
The Declaration of Independance was drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776. Jefferson expressed the convictions of the people although his ideas had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. Armed conflicts between americans and british soldiers began in April 1775, which led to the writing of this document. It was written in Philadelphy and formally adopted on July 4th.
