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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The “great charter” of English liberties. Forced from King John by the English barons and sealed at Runnymede, June 15, 1215. -
Jamestown settled
A village in E Virginia. First permanent English settlement in North America 1607. -
Mayflower Compact written
An agreement to establish a government. Entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620. -
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right is a major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing. The Petition contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and restricts the use of martial law -
English Bill of Rights
An Act of the Parliament of England passed on 16 December 1689. It limits the powers of sovereign, and sets out the rights of Parliament. Rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement to regular elections to Parliament, and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. -
Albany Plan of Union
A meeting of delegates from seven American colonies. Held in 1754 at Albany, New York, at which Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan (Albany Plan of Union) for unifying the colonies. -
Stamp Act
An act of the British Parliament for raising revenue in the American Colonies by requiring the use of stamps and stamped paper for official documents, commercial writings, and various articles. It was to go into effect on November 1, 1765, but met with intense opposition and was repealed in March, 1766. -
Boston Massacre
A riot in Boston arising from the resentment of Boston colonists toward British troops quartered in the city. In which the troops fired on the mob and killed several persons. -
Boston Tea Party
A raid on three British ships in Boston Harbor. In which Boston colonists disguised as Indians, threw the contents of several hundred chests of tea into the harbor as a protest against British taxes on tea, and against the monopoly granted the East India Company. -
First Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from twelve British North American colonies that met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament. -
Intolerable Acts
A series of laws passed by the British in 1774. An attempt to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. -
Second Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence. -
American Revolution
The war between Great Britain and its American colonies, 1775–83. By which the colonies won their independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776. It stated their grievances against British monarch and declared their independence. -
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution for the United States, adopted by Congress in 1777 and enacted in 1781. The articles established a national legislature, the Continental Congress, but most authority rested with the state. -
Shay's Rebellion
An armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. -
Philadelphia Convention
Took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution. -
Constitution Convention
Took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America. Came from the Philadelphia Convention. -
Connecticut Compromise
The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress. The House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state's share of the U.S. population. The Senate, in which each state has two representatives.
