Colonial Timeline

Philadelphia Convention

1787 BCE

The Philadelphia addressed the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.

Connecticut Compromise

1787 BCE

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 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

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

The Second Continental Congress was the governing body of the American bodies

First Continental Congress

1774 BCE

The Continental Congress was association was created to boycott all contact with British goods.

Intolerable Acts

1774 BCE

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

The Boston Tea party was a protest by the American Colonists against the British government

Boston Massacre

1770 BCE

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

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 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

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

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 is one of England's most famous Constitutional documents.

Mayflower compact written

1622 BCE

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

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

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.