Government

By anyssa acedo
  • Jun 15, 1215

    Magna Carta is drafted

    The Magna Carta was sealed by King John. It was created to limit the powers of Monarch. The barons couldn't tolerate John's abuse and they wanted to change the government. John was forced to meet up with them and discussed the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was sent out to everyone in England so men could see their rights. Eventually it spred to more and more people. After the 13th century the rulers were absolute Monarchs. Magna Carta has rules that even the King or Queen could not break.

  • Petitionof Right is drafted

    Petitiion of Rights means freedom of speech, press, and assembly. It was established by King Charles I. The petitions were suppose to be safe but got violated by King Charles. He collected taxes without Parliament consent. Soon he ruled England without Parliament and followed old laws and collected old taxes. War broke out and the Petition of Rights was reinforced. The Petition of Rights was meant for peace, justice, and fairness. Instead it lead to fights. Today, we are a democracy.

  • English Bill of Rights is drafted

    The English Bill of Rights was approved by the Convention Parliament. It was designed to limit the king and queen's power. It all started when King James offended the Protestant Church. William of Orange and his wife were crowned King and Queen of England. As part of their oaths, King William III and Queen Mary were required to swear that they would obey the laws of Parliament. The English Bill of Rights gave rights to englishmen and said that any man has the right to petition and to bear arms.

  • Stamp Act

    The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament. The new tax wanted Americans to pay taxes for every piece of printed paper they used. That money was paying for protecting the American frontier. The colonists thought The Stamp Act was to raise money without the approval of legislatures. The cost wan't very much. The law didn't care much about the cost, but the standard it set. The colonists had to put a stop to it adopt Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolves. This said that they have same rights.

  • Townshend Duties

    Charles Townshend, chancellor of the exchequer, sponsored the Townshend Acts. Parliament wanted to pay the British governors and other officials so they could be independent. The Townshend Acts accomplished a few things. One act suspended the New York legislature until legislatures provided supplies for the British troops. Another act allowed tea to be imported to the colonies without taxes. The Townshend Acts didn't have a good on relations with the British government and the colonies.

  • Boston Massacre

    Taxation and other issues built tension between Britain and the colonies. The townspeople treated the soldiers poorly because the tension started to show. On March 5th the tension burst. The soldiers that were on duty were harrassed and insulted by the townspeople.

  • Tea Act

    American Colonists couln't buy tea unless it came from that company. The East India tea wasn't doing well so the British wanted to help thier business. The Tea Act lowered the tea prices so much that it was lower than the rest. The American Colonists saw this as taxation without representation because they couldn't buy tea from anyone else without spending alot of money. They refused to unload the tea from the ships. This started the Boston Tea Party.

  • First Continental Congress

    Brought together representatives from each of the colonies to discuss their response to the British. They discussed their relationship with Britain. The congress did not want independence. They wanted to compose statements of colonial rights, identify parliaments, and have a plan that would convince britian to restore those rights. The members wanted to boycott british goods and passed resolutions asserting colonial rights.They met again in May 1775. The king of England punished the colonies.

  • Second Continental Congress

    The 13 colonies met up in Philadelphia to discuss their next steps. There were new delagates including: John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. The second meeting started with the battle of Lexington and Concord. New England militia were still outside trying to get the British out of Boston. The Second Contintental Congress made the militia as Contintental Army to represent the 13 states. They elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Contintental Army.

  • Common Sense was published

    The colonists wanted to negotiate with the British to resolve problems. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in January but wasn't published til February. He wanted people to think about what was happening. He used common sense to say that they should see what the king was doing wasn't right. The British who lived in England had many rights, while the Colonists didn't. Common Sense made people think and fight for their independence.

  • Declaration of Independence signed

    Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, then it was edited by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. There were 56 men who signed it. The Declaration of Independence announced that the 13 colonies were not apart of the British Empire anymore. We weren't free from Britain yet. After it was signed, there was a war that lasted 7 years. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 that put an end to the war.