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Period: Sep 6, 1200 to
Time
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Sep 6, 1215
Magna Carta
*The Middle Ages encompass one of the most exciting periods in English History
*The purpose of the Magna Carta was to curb the King and make him govern by the old English laws that had prevailed before the Normans came -
Petition Of Right
*The Petition exhibited to his Majesty by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, concerning divers Rights and Liberties of the Subjects, with the King's Majesty's royal answer thereunto in full Parliament
*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
*Whereas the late King James the Second, by the assistance of divers evil counsellors, judges, and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom.
*By levying money for and to the use of the crown, by pretence of prerogative, for other time, and in other manner, than the same was granted by parliament. -
Albany Plan of Union
*Plan of a Proposed Union of the Several Colonies of Masachusets-bay, New Hampshire, Coneticut, Rhode Island, New York Ect. -
Boston Masscre
*The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770.
*It was the culmination of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Tea Party
*At the war's conclusion in 1763, King George III and his government looked to taxing the American colonies as a way of recouping their war costs
*They were also looking for ways to reestablish control over the colonial governments that had become increasingly independent while the Crown was distracted by the war -
First Continental Congress
*The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia
* All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates -
Second Continental Congress
*On May 10, 1775, the members of the Second Continental Congress met at the State House in Philadelphia. There were several new delegates including: John Hancock from Massachusetts, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, and Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania.
*The Second Continental Congress meeting started with the battle of Lexington and Concord fresh in their memories. -
Declaration Of Independence
*The original Declaration is now exhibited in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in Washington, DC. It has faded badly, largely because of poor preservation techniques during the 19th century. The document measures 29-3/4 inches by 24-1/2 inches
*The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge (age 26). Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest -
Articles of Confederation
*Created during the throes of the Revolutionary War, the Articles reflect the wariness by the states of a strong central government.
*Under the Articles each of the states retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence." -
Shays Rebellion
*The crisis of the 1780s was most intense in the rural and relatively newly settled areas of central and western Massachusetts.
*Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. -
Philadelphia Convention
*By 1786, Americans recognized that the Articles of Confederation, the foundation document for the new United States adopted in 1777, had to be substantially modified. The Articles gave Congress virtually no power to regulate domestic affairs--no power to tax, no power to regulate commerce
* In 1786, the United States was bankrupt -
New Jersey Plan
*Paterson, William
One of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention (1787); he introduced the "New Jersey Plan, " which led to the establishment of the US Senate. Paterson was one of the signers of the Constitution, and supported its ratification
*The plan once again offered the idea of a unicameral (one house) legislature in which all states would have an equal number of votes -
Virginia Plan
*On May 29, 1787, Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph proposed what became known as "The Virginia Plan."
*In its amended form, this page of Madison's plan shows his ideas for a legislature.
