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Period: Sep 6, 1200 to
Goverment Timeline 1
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Jun 12, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was the first document in history to outline limitations for the King. This important document was also the result of many years of absolute control by whatever royal family was in power. -
Petition of Rights
Parliment forced King Charles I to sign the Petition of Rights when he asked for more money on taxes. The Petition limited the king's power in several ways and challenged the divine rights of kings, declaring that even a monarch must obey the law of the land. -
English Bill of Rights
One of the fundamental documents of English constitutional law, and marks a turning point in our history. THe English Bill of Rights changed the nation from subjects under the authority of a monarch to a nation of free citizens with individual rights. -
Albany Plan of Union
A plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized governmert. Although never carried out, it was the first important plan to conceive of the colonies as a collective whole united under one government. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight between a "patriot" mob and British soldiers. This was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War and led directly to the Royal Governor evacuating the occupying army from the town of Boston. It would soon bring the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of men, disguised as Native Americans, boarded three tea ships in Boston Harbor. They broke open the chests and dumped the ship's cargo into the sea to protest British control of the tea trade. -
First Continental Congress
After the Boston Tea Party, Parliment punished America through the Intolerable Acts. Delegates from every colonie except Georgia met in Philidelphia to discuss the worsening situation. They protested Britain's colonial policies and urged colonies to refuse all trade with England until the taxes and trade regulations were repealed. -
Second Continental Congress
A meeting assembled in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania after the fighting of Lexington and Concord. The Second Continental Congress established the militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. They also elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence
Congress named a commitee of five - Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson - to prepare a proclamation of independence. I was founded on the concept of "consent of the governed" and proclaimed the existance of a new nation. -
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the United States; it established a"firm league of friendship" between the 13 states and reflected the wariness by the states of a strong central government. -
Virgina Plan
Drafted by James Madison, and presented by Edmund Randolph to the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787, the Virginia Plan proposed a strong central government composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. -
New Jersey Plan
Became an alternative plan to the Virgina Plan and retained the unicameral Congress of the Confederation, with each of the states equally represented. The plan would also add closely limited powers to tax and to regulate trade between the States. -
Shay's Rebellion
The post-Revolutionary clash between New England farmers and merchants that tested the institutions of the new republic, threatened to create a civil war for the states. -
Philadelphia Convention
A convention to discuss problems in governing the US which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. The result of the Convention was The United States Constitution.
