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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
King John I of England signed the Magna Carta. The document was written in Great Britian. Magna Carta required the king to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that he was not above the law. It protected certain rights of the king's subjects. Most notably the right of Habeas Corpus, meaning that they had rights against unlawful imprisonment. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact a social contract in which the settlers consented to follow the compact's rules and regulations for the sake of survival. -
Petition of Rights
The Petition contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and restricts the use of martial law. Charles I signed it. -
English Bill of Rights
It was signed by King William III and Queen Mary II. It lays down limits on the powers of the crown and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement for regular elections to Parliament and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. -
Albany Plan of Union
Benjamin Franklin suggest the plan. The plan never did happen. It was rejected. The "Join or Die" political cartoon is associated with the Plan and was also created by Benjamin Franklin. -
French and Indian War
The war was fought primarily between the colonies of British America and New France. The major battles included:
Fort Duquesne (French Win)
Fort Necessity (French Win)
The Battle of Quebec (British Win)
Louisbourg (British Win)
Montreal (British Win)
The British won the overall war which then started the American Revolution. -
King George III takes power
The French and Indian war put Great Britain in debt.The French and Indian war also caused the Britain people to fight amongt them selves. As the war progressed, King George III continued to suffer losses both in the colonies and on the continent of Europe. Causing him to tax the colonists without representation. -
Stamp Act
legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies were all taxed. Many colonies considered it a violation of their rights. -
Boston Massacre
British Army soldiers killed five civilian men and injured six others. British troops had been stationed in Boston since 1768 in order to protect and support crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston. Parliament responded in 1774 with the Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts, which ended local self-government and closed Boston's commerce. -
First Continental Congress
Peyton Randolph presided over the proceedings; Henry Middleton took over as Peesident of the Congress for the last few days. Charles Thomson, leader of Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence, was selected to be Secretary of the Continental Congress. The first accomplishment of the event was a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods. The second was to provide for a Second Continental Congress to meet. The meeting took place at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. -
Lexington and Concord
Lexington and Concord started the shooting war between the British and the American Patriots. For the British, the General was Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith. For the Colonists the two Generals were Captain John Parker (of Lexington) and Colonel James Barrett (of Concord). Paul Revere warned everyone that the British were coming. -
Second Continental Congress
It took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Second Continental Congress established the militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. They also elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence video
Declaration of Indepdence Over 17 days, Thomas Jefferson writes what will become the mission statement for a revolution and a new nation which ends up becoming the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
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The Treaty of Paris
The United States was represented by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams. U.S. territory would extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River in the west, and from the Great Lakes and Canada in the north to the thirty-first parallel in the south. The British finally recognized the Declaration of Independence -
Start of Constitutional Convention
The convention was to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. The Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation. -
Articles of Condederation
The first president under the Articles of Conderation was John Hanson. -
Intolerable Acts
The acts stripped Massachusetts of self-government and historic rights, triggering outrage and resistance in the Thirteen Colonies after the Boston Massacre took place. The British closed all of Boston's Ports until the colonist's payed for the tea they destroyed during the Boston Tea Party. British restricted colonist to have government/committees/town meetings. British allowed them selves to house troops where ever, when ever, in the colonist's homes. They let British officials accused of crim
