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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is a English charter of liberty and was originally issued in 1215. It was reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions. -
Jamestown Settled
On May 14, 1607 the English had their first successful settlement of North America. It was named for King James I of England. -
Mayflower Compact Written
This was the first written constitution in North America. On November 11, 1620 the Pilgrims reached an agreement on the ship Mayflower. The Mayflower Compact made them live in a civil society according to their own laws. -
Petition of Rights
The Petition of Right is a major English constitutional document that asserting a right against the English crown. It was produced by the Parliament in May 1628, and given the royal assent by Charles I in June of that year. -
English Bill of Righs
In 1689, the Parliament of Great Britain passed the English Bill of Rights. It established a constitutional monarchy in Great Britain. This created the separation of powers, enhanced the democratic election and limited the powers of the king and queen. -
The Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Union was a meeting of delegates from seven American colonies that was held on 1754 at Albany, New York. This is where Benjamin Franklin attempted to unify the colonies -
Stamp Act
The British Parliament passed the stamp act on march 22, 1765. This act made the people pay taxes on every piece of printed paper they used. The money was used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American Frontier. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre happened on March 5, 1770 when five civilians died at the hands of British redcoats. The British American colonies rebellion was sparked after this incident and it culminated in the American Revolutionary War. -
Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, Boston colonist disguised as Indians and raided three British ships in the Boston Harbor. As a protest against the British taxes on tea they threw the contents of hundreds chests of tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
Laws that the British Parliament passed in 1774. They passed these laws in response to the Boston Tea Party. -
First Continental Congress
On September 5, 1774 delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. They met there to respond to the Coercive Acts. -
American Revolution begins
The American Revolution began on April 19, 1775. It started because of the conflict between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain. The first battles were the battles of Lexington and Concord. This war lasted seven years and later gave the birth to the independence of the United States of America. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that managed the colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence -
Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress made a public act that declared the colonies to be free and independent of England. -
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States and specified how the Federal government was to operate. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the Articles in June 1776 and sent the draft to the states for ratification in November 1777. -
Shay's Rebellion
Daniel Shays, a former militia officer, led an uprising which broke out in western Massachusetts in 1786. His followers protested the foreclosures of farms for debt and briefly succeeded in shutting the court system. The rebellion convinced conservatives of the need for a strong national government and this also contributed to the movement to draft the constitution. -
Constitutional Convention
The constitutional convention was help at the State House in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. 55 delegates came from several different states to frame a Constitution for a federal republic. -
Connecticut Compromise
During the Constitutional Convention in 1787 there was an agreement that small and large states reached that defined the legislative structure and that each state would have a representation under the United States Constitution. -
Constitituonal Convention
This took place on May 25 to September 17, 1787. This is where they got together to discuss the problems in governing the United States, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation. The original intention of the convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation but others thought that they should just create a new government. The result of the convention was the creation of the United States Constitution.
