Colonial Timeline

  • Philadelphia Convention
    1787 BCE

    Philadelphia Convention

    The Philadelphia addressed the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.
  • Connecticut Compromise
    1787 BCE

    Connecticut Compromise

    The Connecticut compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention, providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.
  • Shay's Rebellion
    1786 BCE

    Shay's Rebellion

    Shay's Rebellion was an organization of protests by farmers in western Massachusetts against the debt and tax collection practices of the state's government., The farmers had been plagued by excessive property taxes leading to farm foreclosures or even imprisonment.
  • Declaration of Independence
    1776 BCE

    Declaration of Independence

    The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the U.S. It was an official act taken by all 13 American colonies in declaring independence from British rule. It was a war between the colonies and Great Britain was called the American Revolutionary War.
  • Second Continental Congress
    1775 BCE

    Second Continental Congress

    The Second Continental Congress was the governing body of the American bodies
  • First Continental Congress
    1774 BCE

    First Continental Congress

    The Continental Congress was association was created to boycott all contact with British goods.
  • Intolerable Acts
    1774 BCE

    Intolerable Acts

    The intolerable Acts were punitive laws passed by the British Parliament after the Boston Tea Party. The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation.
  • Boston Tea Party
    1773 BCE

    Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea party was a protest by the American Colonists against the British government
  • Boston Massacre
    1770 BCE

    Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre was a fight that was between a "patriot" mob throwing snowballs, sticks, stones, and a squad of British soldiers.
  • Stamp Act
    1765 BCE

    Stamp Act

    The Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament in March of 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.
  • American Revolution begins
    1765 BCE

    American Revolution begins

    American Revolution started because of British soldiers, called lobsterbacks because of their red coats, and minutemen the colonists' exchanged gunfire at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Described as "the shot heard round the world," it signaled the start of the American Revolution and led to the creation of a new nation.
  • Albany Plan of Union
    1754 BCE

    Albany Plan of Union

    The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized government.
  • English Bill of Rights
    1689 BCE

    English Bill of Rights

    The English Bill of Rights is an act that the Parliament of England. The Bill of Rights creates separation of powers, limits the powers between both queen and king, enhances the democratic election, and strengthens freedom of speech.
  • Petition of Right
    1628 BCE

    Petition of Right

    Petition of Right is one of England's most famous Constitutional documents.
  • Mayflower compact written
    1622 BCE

    Mayflower compact written

    The rest of the Mayflower Compact is very short. It simply bound the signers into a "Civil Body Politic" for the purpose of passing just and equal Laws for the general good of the Colony. But those few words expressed the idea of self-government for the first time in the New World.
  • Jamestown settled
    1607 BCE

    Jamestown settled

    The Virginia Company of England made a daring proposition: sail to the new, mysterious land, which they called Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and begin a settlement. They established Jamestown, Virginia, on May 14, 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America.
  • Magna Carta
    1215 BCE

    Magna Carta

    The Magna Carta "the great charter" is one of the most important documents in history about the principle that everyone is subject to the law, the right to justice and the right to fair trial.