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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
This is a document that King John was pressured into signing because it heavly limited his power he held as the King of England and allowed for the foundation of a powerful parliament. It also became the basis for English citizen's rights -
Jamestown settled
The founding of Jamestown brought a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. The government, language, customs, and beliefs of these early Virginians are all part of the United States’ customs today. -
Mayflower Compact written
It was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the Separatists fleeing religious persecution from James VI and I. They traveled along with adventurers, tradesmen, and servants, most of whom were referred to as "Strangers". -
Petition of Right
This is an English constitutional document that sets out certain liberties that the king can not take away. The Petition contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and restricts the use of martial law -
Albany Plan of Union
This was a proposal made by Ben Franklin at the Albany Congress in 1754. Its goal was to form a strong union of the colonies under a single government. The need to to make this proposal was a direct result from the French and Indian War. -
Stamp Act
One of the acts Britain set on the Americans because they needed money to repay the debts they owed after the French-Indian War. The Stamp Act was the first act where the colonists were directly taxed, and this highly upset the Americans. It pretty much said that all documents and papers must have a stamp on it to be legal. -
Boston Massacre
A small group of Boston colonists began throwing snowballs at and taunting the British military troops in order to express their frustrations. The soldiers then retaliated by opening fire on the colonists killing four of them -
Boston Tea Party
This was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston against the tax policy of the British government and the East India Company that controlled the tea imported into the colonies. After officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britian a cluster of colonists ruined the tea by dumping in the Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
These were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in relating to Britain's colonies in North America. The acts caused a riot in the Thirteen Colonies and were important developments in the growth of the American Revolution. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress brought together representatives from each of the colonies, except Georgia, to discuss their response to the British Intolerable Acts. -
American Revolution Begins
The American Revolution was caused by the thirteen colonies in North America when they joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States. They felt Great Britian couldn't govern them from over seas. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met in Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It focused mainly on independence and set up for the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
This document was Americas way of cutting the chains from Great Britian. It really focused on individual liberties. -
Articles of Confederation
The representatives of the thirteen states agreed to create a confederacy called the United States of America, in which each state maintains its own authority and right to govern. The only exception being those rights directly dedicated to Congress. -
Shay's Rebellion
It was an armored uprising in western Massachusetts caused by financial difficulties brought about by a post-war economic depression, a credit squeeze caused by a lack of hard currency, and intense government policies -
Connecticut Compromise
This was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that along with proportional representation in the lower house they also required the upper house to be weighted equally between the states. -
Philadelphia Convention
This convention was put on to address problems in governing the United States which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation. Although the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederatio they decided to make a new system one instead of fixing the one they already had. -
Constitution Covention
55 delegates, representing every state but Rhode Island, met at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. The main reason for the meeting was to discuss a stronger national government. -
English Bill of Rights
The first ten amendents of the Constitution. They provide Americans with basic rights such as life, liberty, and happiness.
