Major Events for Early American Governemnt

Magna Carta

Sep 16, 1215

First document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects. In an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges.

Jamestown Settled

May 14, 1607

Settlement in the Colony of Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607. Jamestown served as the capital of the colony for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699.

Mayflower Compact Written

Nov 18, 1620

First governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the Separatists, fleeing from religious persecution by King James of Great Britain.

Petition of Right

Jun 7, 1628

Sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing.

English Bill of Rights

Dec 16, 1689

The Bill of Rights is an act of the Parliament of England passed on December 16, 1689. Laid out a basic rights for the Englishmen.

Albany Plan of Union

Jul 10, 1754

Plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized government.

Stamp Act

Aug 16, 1765

Any legislation that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. If they pay they recieve an official stamp on their documents, making them legal.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

Known as the Incident on King Street by the British. British army soldiers killed five civillian men and six others.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

Group of Massachusetts Patriots, protesting the monopoly on American tea importation recently granted by Parliament to the East India Company, seized 342 chests of tea in a midnight raid on three tea ships and threw them into the harbor.

First Continental Congress

Sep 5, 1774

Convention of delegates from 12 colonies, meet at Carpenter's Hall. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts.

Intolerable Acts

Sep 16, 1774

Series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament, relating to the Boston Tea Party.

Second Continental Congress

May 10, 1775

Convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies, managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the Congress acted as the de facto national government of what became the United States.

American Revolution Begins

Sep 18, 1775

Political Upheaval during the last half of the 18th century, 13 colonies in North America joined togeher to break from the British Empire to become the United States of America.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

Founding document of the American political tradition. It articulates the fundamental ideas that form the American nation: All men are created free and equal and possess the same inherent, natural rights.

Articles of Confederation

Sep 16, 1776

Agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution.[

Shay's Rebellion

Aug 29, 1786

Armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a veteren of the Revolutionary War and a rebel leader.

Philadelphia Convention

May 25, 1787

Also known as Constituional Convention, took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States.

Constitution Convention

May 25, 1787

Also known as Philadelphia Convention, took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States. It was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Conneticut Compromise

Sep 18, 1787

An agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. Each state would have two representatives in the upper house.