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Aug 1, 1215
Magna Carta
Originally issued in Latin in 1215, required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary. Example by explicitly accepting that no freeman could be punished except through the law of the land, which still exist today -
Jamestown Settled
Founded in 1607, Jamestown Virginia was the first English colony to survive with a lasting settlement in what later became the United States -
Mayflower Caompact
An agreement reached by the Pilgrims on the ship the Mayflower just before they landed at Plymouth Rock. It was also and agreement to establish a government. -
Petition Of Right
Major English document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing. The petition contains restrcitions on non-parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and resticts the use of martial law. -
English Bill of Rights
A restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the convention parliament to William and Mary inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England. It lays down limits on the powers of sovereign and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech parliament, the requirement to regular elections to parliament and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution, -
Albany Plan of Union
Suggested by Bill Franklin at the Albany Congress in 1754 in Albany New York. It was an early attempt at forming a union of the colonies under one government as far as might be necessary for dfense and other general important purposes during the French and Indian War. Franklin's plan of the union was one of the several put forth by the various delagates of the Albany Congress -
Stamp Act
A direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of Bristish America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London carrying an embossed revenue stamp -
Boston Massacre
An incident in which British Army soldiers killed 5 civilian men and injured 6 others. British Troops stationed in Boston were there inorder to protect and support crown appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliament legislation. -
Boston Tea Party
A political protest by the sons of the Libertry in Boston against the tax olicy of the British government and the East India company that controlled all of the tea imported into the colonies. -
First Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from 12 British North American colonies at carpenters' Hall in Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Intolerable Acts by the Bristish Parliament -
Intolerable Acts
Names used to desribe a series of laws passed by the Bristish Parliament rrelating to Britains colonies in North America. The acts triggered outrage and resistance in the 13 colonies that later became the US and were important developments in the growth of the American Revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from the 13 colonies in Pennsyvlania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary war begun. Managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adpoting the US Declaration of Independence. -
American Revolution Begins
The war between the American colonies and Great Britain leading in the formationof the Independent United States. -
Declaration Of Independence
A statement adopted by teh Continental Congress which announced that the 13 colonies regard themselves as independent states, no longer apart of the British Empire. A committee was assembled to draft the formal declaration to be ready when congress voted on Independence -
Articles of Confederation
An agreement among the 13 founding states that established the US as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its constitution. Its drafting by the Continental Congress, began in mid 1776, was formally ratified by all 13 states in 1781. -
Shays Rebellion
An armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. The rebellion was started by a millitary officer named Daniel Shay. Shays followers protested the foreclosures of farms for debt and briefly succeeded in shutting down the Court system, Shays rebellion persuaded conservatives of the need for a strong national governement and contributed to the movement to draft the consitution. -
Philadelphia Convention
Addressed problems in governing the US which has been operating under the Articles of Confederation. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wanted to create a new government rather than fix the old one. The result of the convention was the US constituiton. -
Constitution Convention
The convention in Philadelphia of representatives from each of the former colonies, except Rhode Island, which the constitution of the United States was framed. -
Connecticut Compromise
A compromised adopted at the Constituitonal Convention providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives. The Connecticut Compromise is also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 on Shermans' Compromise
