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Jun 10, 1215
Magna carta is drafted
The Magna Carta is a document that King John of England was forced to sing. Forced into signing because it reduced the power he held as the King of England and allowed the formation of a powerful parliament. Also it was a collection of 37 English laws, some copied, some recollected, some old and some new. Its purpose was to make the king govern by the old English laws. The content of the Magna Carta was drafted by Archbishop Stephen Langton on June 10, 1215. -
Petition of Rights is drafted
The Petition of Right is an English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from violating. It was passed on 7 June 1628. The petition contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and restricts the use of martial law. -
Bill of Rights is drafted
The Bill of Rights is the name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. It limits the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. The amendments were introduced by James Madison to the 1st United States Congress as series of legislative articles. They were adopted by the House of Representatives on August 21, 1789. -
Stamp Act
In March 1765, parliament passed the Stamp Act. Colonist were required to use special, stamped paper for all paper products. And colonists who disobeyed were to be tried in vice-admiralty courts, and were more likely to be found guilty. Boston colonists organized the Sons of Liberty to resist taxes. On October 1765, representatives of 9 colonies met in New York and held the Stamp Act Congress. -
Townshends Duties
The Townshend Acts started in June of 1767. The Townshend Acts were British tricks to cut the British land tax and to tax the colonist. The treasurer of the British, Charles Townshend, thought of an idea to tax the people. Charles told the King , and he liked it. So the King started to tax the people of the United States. It happened because the British didn't have enough money to supply their own people from the other war that just happened. -
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. The fight began when about 50 citizens attacked a British officer. This occured because Parliment in 1767 passed the Townshend Act. In response the governor ordered that the British soldiers be withdrawn to Castle Island, giving the victory to the colonists. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed to allow the British company to sell its tea without the added taxes. Colonial sellers would not be able to meet their prices. There were almost 17 million pounds of tea that the colonists were unwilling to buy because of the boycotts. The colonists and the Sons of Liberty responded on December 16,1773 with the Boston Tea Party. -
1st Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, from September 5, to October 26, 1774. All 13 colonies sent delegates exept Georgia. The colonies were united to discuss their response to the Intolerable Act. Colonies did not wanted to be independent from Britain, they just wanted to get back thei colonial rights. During the meeting the members agreed to boycott British goods. And also agreed to meet again. As a result the king of England decided to punish the colonies. -
2nd Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress started on May 10, 1775. Delegates of the 13 colonies gathered in Philadelphia to discuss their next steps. Also there were several new delegates including: John Hancock from Massachusetts, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, and Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania. They established the militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. And elected George Washington as the leader of the Continental Army. -
Common Sense (Thomas Paine)
Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense" in January, but it was not published until February. It was to set his arguments in favor of the American Independence. Paine spoke to the people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. Also this document sparked a revolution. After this writting was published Paine continued to inspired the patriots during the American Revolution. -
Declaration of Independence signed
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Which announced that the thirteen American colonies were independent of British power. Now they formed a new nation, the United States of America. John Adams was the leader, so he persuaded the others to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original document. The Declaration was a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain.
