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Jul 15, 1215
MAGNA CARTA
Magna Carta exercised a strong influence both on the United States Constitution and on the constitutions of the various states. However, its influence was shaped by what eighteenth-century Americans believed Magna Carta to signify. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the male passengers of the Mayflower, consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, and tradesmen. The Puritans were fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England. -
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on January 14, 1639 O.S. The fundamental orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River towns, setting its structure and powers. They wanted the government to have access to the open ocean for trading. -
English Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights 1689 is a landmark Act in the constitutional law of England that sets out certain basic civil rights and clarifies who would be next to inherit the Crown. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, each side supported by military units from the parent country and by American Indian allies. -
Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin, then a senior leader and a delegate from Pennsylvania, at the Albany Congress -
The Acts
Stamp, Townshend, Sugar, and Tea Acts. The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament in 1765 to raise money from the colonies, since it seemed only fair that they should pay part of the cost of their own defense. ... This would set a precedent that Parliament could tax the colonies at will. -
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was initially a convention of delegates from a number of British American colonies at the height of the American Revolution, who acted collectively for the people of the Thirteen Colonies that ultimately became the United States of America. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America which united in the American Revolutionary War. -
Declaration of Independence
With the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775, the bell was rung to announce the battles of Lexington and Concord. Its most famous tolling, however, was on July 8, 1776, when it summoned Philadelphia citizens for the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 original ... No other colony could be admitted without the consent of nine states. Affirms that the Confederation will honor all bills of credit incurred -
Shay’s Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades; the fight took place mostly in and around Springfield. -
Three-fifths compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise reached among state delegates during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. -
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. -
New Jersey Plan
The New Jersey Plan was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787. The plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan, which called for two houses of Congress, both elected with apportionment according to population.
