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Jun 15, 1215
magna carta
Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was preceded and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers would be limited -
petiton of rights
Parliamentary declaration of the rights and liberties of the people, assented to by Charles I in the beginning of his reign (1628), and considered a constitutional document second in importance only to Magna Charta. The petition demanded: that no freeman should be forced to pay any tax, loan, or benevolence, unless in accordance with an act of parliament;
that no freeman should be imprisoned contrary to the laws of the land;
that soldiers and sailors should not be billeted on private person -
stamp act
Parliament's first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. Great Britain was faced with a massive national debt following the Seven Years War. That debt had grown. English citizens in Britain were taxed at a rate that created a serious threat of revolt. -
townshend duties
the English parliament cut the British land tax, and, to balance the budget, Charles Townshend promised that he would tax the Americans to make up the difference. Taking advantage of the distinction the Americans had drawn between internal and external taxes, he put through a series of acts laying import duties at American ports on paper, lead, glass and tea shipped from England. These duties, however, didn't have an economic but a political purpose. The money that was collected was used to pay -
boston massacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. It was the result of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden by the Townshend Acts. -
tea act
The act was not intended to raise revenue in the American colonies, and in fact imposed no new taxes. It was designed to prop up the East India Company which was floundering financially and burdened with eighteen million pounds of unsold tea. This tea was to be shipped directly to the colonies, and sold at a bargain price. The Townshend Duties were still in place, however, and the radical leaders in America found reason to believe that this act was a maneuver to buy popular support for the taxes -
First Continental Congress
Representatives from each colony, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia. The congress had three objectives: to compose a statement of colonial rights, to identify British parliaments violation of those rights, and to provide a plan that would convince Britain to restore those rights -
Second Continental Congress
convention of delegates from the twelve colonies (except Georgia) that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. -
common sense publication
Common Sense was written to challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that the author, Thomas Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. -
declaration of independance
The Declaration of Independence was the formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. -
Bill of Rights
the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. While originally the amendments applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been held to apply to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment.
