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Mayflower Compact
English settlers traveled to the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. The settlers landed in Massachusetts instead of their intended destination, Virginia. Because life without laws could prove catastrophic, the settlers designed the Mayflower Compact to establish sets of rules needed for self governance. Although it is unclear as to who wrote the Mayflower Compact, William Brewster is usually given credit. Forty one male adults signed the Compact. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism was used as the first economic system of trade. This meathod of trade was first used in Europe and then spread to the early colonies in America. The idea behind mercantilism was to increase the colonies’ wealth through governmental regulations. The overall national strength could be reinforced by limiting imports and trade taxes known as tariffs, thus increasing wealth. Increasing exports was another way to increase wealth. -
Navigations Act
The government established the Navigation Act of Colonial America to limit trade in the colonies and allow England to amass taxes. This Act, implemented on the colonies banned imports and exports with anyone other than British ships that were under the command of British sailors. For example, Dutch shipping was banned since the Dutch proved to be competition for England. -
John Hull Mint Master
When he was twenty eight years old, John Hull began making currency. During the 1650s, Massachusetts was struggling to use solid currency. The only person able to create coins was King Charles the First, but after he was beheadded the General Court created America’s First Mint. The general court needed someone to head America’s First Mint, therefore, they placed Hull and his partner Robert Sanderson to run it. Coins were made out of silver. -
Bacon’s Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon was a Virginia planter and leader of Bacon’s rebellion. His rebellion was caused when Bacon wanted to expropriate all the land that natives possessed as revenge for attacks on settlements. Governor William Berkeley did not want to fight Indians and thus labeled Bacon as a rebel. Disagreements with government is seen here, since Bacon controlled government for a short period of time. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act replaced the Molasses Act which required merchants to pay six pence in taxes for the importation of foreign molasses. The Sugar Act not only replaced the former Act, it also reduced the taxes from six pence to three pence per gallon. Although with the Sugar Act came taxes for sugar, wines, and coffee. -
Stamp Act
American colonists were required to pay taxes on printed paper they used. This was known as the Stamp Act, and the money collected would help pay for costs spent on repelling native attacks. After paying a tax for legal documents, newspapers, even playing cards, people would receive a stamp indicating that a document was legal. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act gave the British East India Company Tea an opportunity to reduce the great amounts of tea it had by selling it in American Colonies. This inspired a group that called themselves Sons of Liberty to disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians and board three ships and eliminate more than 92 thousand pounds of tea. The Tea Act did not raise taxes for colonists since a tax on tea already existed. -
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was a committed artisan. During revolutionary times, Revere joined the Freemasons. As restlessness grew between the American colonies and Britain, Revere was assigned the role of spying on British troops. He is best known for his famous horse ride when he warned minutemen of a British Invasion. -
Benjamin Franklin becomes America’s First ambassador
When Benjamin Franklin arrived in France, he became America’s first ambassador. Americans arriving in France with the thought of an alliance was odd since a decade earlier colonists fought against the French alongside with Great Britain. The purpose of Franklin’s visit was to obtain French aid for the United States’ fight for independence from Britain. -
United States Constitution
The United States’ Constitution created a national government and established the vital laws necessary to assure the basic rights of citizens on a national level. It was written at the Constitutional Concention in Philadelphia and signed by 38 delegates. The Constitution was created due to problems with the previous Articles of Confederation.
