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Period: Jan 1, 1200 to
Time Span
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Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
English Charter written in 1215 to limit the King's Power. -
Petition of Right
This is a statement of the objectives of the 1628 English legal reform movement that led to the Civil War and deposing of Charles I in 1649. It expresses many of the ideals that later led to the American Revolution. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights of 1689 was an English Act granting more power to Parliament and establishing rights of the Parliamentarians. -
Albany Plan of Union
Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union in June 1754, when delegates from seven of the colonies met to secure the alliance of the Iroquois and plan for their mutual defense. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea coming into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. -
First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress assembled in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 5, 1774, when eleven of the English-American colonies were represented by forty-four delegates -
Second Continental Congress
After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, a Second Continental Congress met. Colonists were still thinking about the two battles. The Congress met on May 10, 1776, in the State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is now called Indepence Hall. -
Declaration of Independence
Document sent to the King stating his actions and the fact we werren't putting up with him anymore. -
Articles of Confederation
Instead of a strong central authority, the states entered into a loose agreement that would maintain their individual state powers and would bring them together as "friends" to discuss the general welfare and the common defense. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states had all the power and the national government was weak. Fearing another tyrant-king, the authors of the Articles created a national government that was inferior to and dependent on the states. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion forced Washington and other Americans to rethink the Confederation system and the assumptions behind it. -
Philledelphia Convention
The Grand Convention at Philadelphia) took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. -
Virginia Plan
On May 29, 1787, Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph proposed what became known as "The Virginia Plan." Written primarily by fellow Virginian James Madison, the plan traced the broad outlines of what would become the U.S. Constitution: a national government consisting of three branches with checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power. In its amended form, this page of Madison's plan shows his ideas for a legislature. It describes 2 houses: one with members elected by the people for 3-year te -
New Jersey Plan
includes-The one house congress should continue to exist. The members will elect an executive(s) who may only serve one term. A separate judicial branch consisting of one supreme court:Each State has one vote in Congress: and The legislature should be given the power to collect taxes from the states.