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Period: to
Colonial Times
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Jamestown
A group of wealthy people were eager to set up an English settlement in North America. They were hoping to find wealth through the products and land from the new land. The king approved, and gave them a charter. They formed the Virginia Company of London. They set sail, and in the spring of 1607, they landed in the Chesapeake Bay region and created the first settlement of Jamestown. The conditions were bad, and they barely made it through the first year. -
House of Burgesses
During the 1600’s, Virginia developed a tradition of representative Government, so in 1619, Virginia’s first lawmaking body was elected and met for the first time. This lawmaking body was called the House of Burgesses. Although it could pass laws and set taxes, it had to share the power with the appointed governor. The House of Burgesses was the first of the many representative governments that America has seen. -
Two Treatises on Government (Locke)
John Locke was a writer during the Enlightenment. In 1690 he published "two Treatises on Government." I he argued that people natural rights that they are born with, such as, life, liberty, and property. He also questioned the idea of divine rights. His opinions led to a conclusion that the government’s job is to protect the rights of the people. Also, if the monarch violates this right, the people have the right to overthrow the monarch. This helped to shaped America as it is today. -
Zenger Case
The trial of peter Zenger was a very helpful case, in the history of American liberty. Zenger was charged with libel because he printed articles criticizing the governor of New York. English law, at the time would punish any writings that criticized the government. However, his lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, convinced the jury that the articles were based on fact and should not be considered libel. Now the press has the right to keep the public informed of the truth, and we have freedom of press. -
Boston Tea Party
On December sixteenth, 1773, a group of large men disguised as Native Americans and boarded a British tea ship. They threw 342 cases of tea into the Boston harbor. In all, they destroyed 90,000 pounds of tea, which was worth thousands of dollars. They did this because they were angry by the Tea Act that was set in place by British Parliament. This was only one of the many protests held because of the Tea Act. -
The Shot Heard Around The World
On April 18, 1775, General Gage sent 700 troops to the town of concord to seize arms that the militia was storing. Five miles off from Concord, in the town of Lexington, seventy-seven minutemen awaited the British troops. The British told them to leave, but they refused. Shortly after they refused, a shot rang out. No one is sure who shot, but it is known as the shot heard around the world. -
The Battle Of Bunker Hill
Briitsh had 6,500 troops in boston, and the ameicans had about 10,000 soliders surrounding the city. General Howe decided to attack straight up Bunker Hill. His attempt failed, along with the second one. The Americans were able to fight them off. The third British attack on the hill worked, but only because the Americans ran out of ammunition. The battle proved to the British that Americans can stand up and fight against the professional British soldiers. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a document declaring the freedom of the colonies from Britain. The colonists were very unhappy with how they were being ruled, and no longer wanted to belong to Britain and the king that ruled over them. This document was approved on July fourth, 1776. -
Battle of Saratoga
British general Burgoyne planned to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. He made a plan, but it failed immediately. He then led his troops down from Canada and continued to push south. In Saratoga, New York, the Americans surrounded the British. After suffering heavy casualties, Burgoyne surrendered on October seventeenth, 1777. -
French Alliance
In the 1770's, France was eager to weaken Britain. Before Saratoga, the French secretly helped out the Americans, but did not want to take an open stand until they thought that the Americans would win the war. The battle of Saratoga finally convinced them, and the French became allies with North America in the February of 1778. France was the first alliance with the Americans. -
Yorktown
Cornwallis moved his troops to the Yorktown Peninsula after they were weakened by the loss at Cow Pens. They soon were trapped by a French fleet which blocked them by sea, and Washington blocked them by land with French and American troops. Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender and the Americans won the last major battle of the war on October nineteen, 1777. -
Treaty of Paris
Peace talks in Paris lead to the agreement of Britain and the United States, called the Treaty of Paris. It said that Britain had to recognize the independence of the United States, the new boundaries that were set for the United States, and the United States had to give the rights and land back to the loyalists. The treaty was signed on April fifteenth, 1783. -
Shay's Rebellion
Daniel Shay, a former Revolutionary War captain led a group of about one thousand Massachusetts farmers. they were going to try to seize arms from the state warehouse, but they were stopped by the miltia. They rebelled because the ecomonic depression made it hard on the farmers, and the goverment refused to help. Although their attempt failed, it showed people that there needed to be a strong central government and led to the revisal of the Articles of Confederation -
Ratification of New Constitution
In Philadelphia, a huge parade celebrated the ratification of the new constitution. This new constitution made many new experiences for America. It stated the new three branches of government, the two-house legislature, and laws about the slaves. This was a huge step for the new nation. Although groups of people were against the new constitution, they got the states to ratify it. -
The Bill Of Rights
Many people objected to the new constitution because there was no Bill of Rights to protect their individual rights. In fact, many of the states insisted on having one. So in March of 1789, the new Congress met and got on top of the task. By 1791, the states had ratified ten amendments. The new Bill of Rights now protects the rights of anyone granted in the constitution.
