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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
It was written by angry Noble Men and the purpose was to give King John (the monarchy) less power and to give the people proper rights. It happened in England and it established that no one was (is) above the law, including the king. -
Mayflower Compact
It was an agreement among individuals and it was written by the Pilgrims who had recently come to America. The purpose was to create their own government and make sure it was a good one that served the people. It established who was in charge. -
English Bill of Rights
It was written by the Parliament in England. The purpose was to limit the powers of the king and give more power to the Parliament. It gave the monarchy a lot less power and the Parliament more. It was important because it created the separation of powers and helped with free speech. -
Cato's Letters
They were a collection of newspaper articles that were published by anonymously by several authors under the names Cato The Elder and Cato the Younger. The purpose was to argue against the King's ruling anonymously. The showed that free speech was a necessity. -
French and Indian War
Also called the 7 Years' War, it was fought between the British and France. They were both fighting over the expansion of territory in the 13 colonies. The war officially ended in 1763 when they both signed the Treaty of Paris. The Brtish got a lot of territory in America, but because of how expensive it was it ended up leading to the American Revolution. -
Mercantilism
It was a way of making money where the goal was to export more goods than import (sell more than buy). It was made by the British to try and get as much money out of the British colonies in America. It was important because it made the 13 colonies even more angry at Britain. -
Stamp Act
It was an act passed by the Parliament after Britain was broke because of the French and Indian War. Its purpose was to tax the Americas on newspapers and all legal documents. It made these things much more expensive for the colonist and made them really angry. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was where the Parliament made it so that the British could tax pretty much everything the colonists had, and that made them even angrier than the Stamp Act did. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was when the Parliament passed a few laws that taxed basic goods in the American Colonies. They taxed items that the Colonies didn't make themselves so they had to buy from the British. It managed to make the colonies even angrier. This made the Colonist start boycotting the goods just like after the Stamp Act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a fight in the street between patriots and British Soldiers. The colonists fought with snowballs, ice, and stones and eventually they began to hit the soldiers with bats. The Soldiers ended up fighting back with real weapons, shooting and killing several American Colonist. This paved the way for the American Revolution. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was when the British East India company was able to ship tea to the American Colonies without paying the taxes, making it much cheaper for them. It was the cheapest tea they could have, and that gave the British a big advantage (mercantilism). This managed to worsen the American colonies anger towards Britain. -
Boston Tea Party
Because of all of the taxes from the British the colonists were angry, and in protest, they threw 342 tubs of British tea into the Boston Harbor. They dressed up as Native Americans. This made the Parliament really angry. -
Intolerable Act
They were a list of laws that the Parliament passed that limited the American Colonists rights by a lot. It let the British soldiers search Americans homes and stripped away other things that should have been basic rights. It was important because this sent the Colonists over the edge. -
First Continental Congress
It was held in Philidelphia by the Colonists and lasted for seven whole weeks. During that time, they demanded their rights back from King George III and he ended up taking it badly. This was the beginning of the Colonists need for independence. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was also held in Philidelphia by the Oclonists leaders, and this time it was about whether or not and why they needed independence from Britain. Not everyone wanted independence because they didn't think they would be able to defeat the British in battle and some were loyal. This is where the Declaration of Independence was approved. -
Lexington & Concord
They were the first battles fought in the Revolutionary War, the very beginning of it. They were fought in Massachusetts. This is where the famous "The British are coming" comes from, when Paul Revere came to warn everyone on his night ride that in fact, the British were coming. This is where the Colonists decided that they finally needed independence from Britain. -
Common Sense
Written by Thomas Paine, it was a pamphlet written to argue the reasons for independence. It was written to argue against the British government system and show why America needed independence. It showed why human rights, self-government, and limited government were important. -
Declaration of Independence
The colonists' leaders were in charge of writing it, but Thomas Jefferson ended up doing the majority of the work. It explained all the reasons for independence and told why King George III was abusive to his people. It also told the required rights for the citizens of the United States and what the government was for, and how it should work. It was approved at the Second Continental Congress and they were now a free country (that's why we celebrate the fourth of July).
