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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta has helped fundamental principles of common law in constitutions around the world. It also inspired American colonists to declare independence from the British. -
Jamestown settled
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America. The first President of the colony was Edward Maria Winfield. -
Mayflower Compact Written
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was an attempt to establish a temporary, legally-binding form of self-government until they could get formal permission from the Council of New England. -
Petition of Right
An English document that states that the King cannot take away the people's rights. It contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced boarding of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and the use of martial law -
English Bill of Rights
This declared the rights and liberties of the people. It was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. -
Albany Plan of Union
This was a plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies. It represented the multiple attempts to form a union of the colonies. -
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American Revolution Begins
The 13 American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy. This also helped found the United States -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act forced a direct tax on the colonies of British America and required that many printed materials in the colonies got produced on stamped paper. It encouraged the revolutionary movement against the British Crown. -
Boston Massacre
This was the killing of five colonists by British regulars. It was the peak of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since the appearance of the Royal troops in October of 1768. -
Boston Tea Party
People disguised as Native Americans destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. They did this , in protest of the Tea Act. -
Intolerable Acts
A set of harsh laws that were passed by the British Parliament after the Boston Tea party. These laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for throwing the tea shipment into the water. -
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First Continental Congress
This was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies. It was held in response to the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament. -
Second Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies. This managed the colonial war effort and adopted the United States Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
This is the document that announced the 13 colonies were no longer under British rule, and were now independent states. They then formed a new nation, the United States. -
Articles of Confederation
An agreement between all thirteen states in the United States that served as its first constitution. It provided a system for the Continental Congress to direct the American Revolutionary War -
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Shay's Rebellion
Protests held by American farmers against state and local enforcement because of tax collections and judgments for debt. The rebellion was most serious in Massachusetts -
Constitutional Convention (Philadelphia Convention)
The purpose of this was to create a new government rather than fix the existing one.At the end, the United States Constitution was created. -
Connecticut Compromise
An agreement that defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. It retained the bicameral legislature.
