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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta meant Great Charter. It established for first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to law. It was written by King of England and became a cornerstone of British constitution. -
Jamestown
Virginia Company settlers landed on Jamestown, Virginia to establish an English colony. They were told by King James l to secure settlement, find gold, and seek a water route to Pacifics. -
Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact was first governed document of Plymouth colony. It was written by separatist later referred to as Pilgrims. They were fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England. It was written to establish government so there wouldn't be any conflict between the people once they land. -
Petition of Right
Petition of Right was written by Parliament as an objection to an over reach of authority by King Charles 1. It was also an English document that helped promote the Civil rights of subjects of King Charles l. This is a statement of the objectives of 1628 English legal reform movement that led to Civil War and deposing of Charles l in 1649 -
English Bill of Rights
England passed the Bull to create separation of powers limits powers of King and Queen, enhances democratic election, and bolsters freedom of speech. It also guaranteed certain rights for the citizens of England. -
Albany Plan of Union
British North American colonies adopted it. It was a plan to place the Beitish North American colonies under a more centralized government. Even though it never carried out, it was first important proposal to conceive of the colonies as a collective whole united under one government. -
Stamp Act
Stamp Act passed by British Parliament. The new tax was imposed on all American colonist and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. The money collected by Stamp Acr was used to help pay costs of defending and protecting the American frontier -
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred between "patriot" mob throwing snowballs, stones and sticks. It began when 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel since the presence of British troops in city of Boston was increasingly unwelcome. This was a signal event leading to Revolutionary War. -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists believed Brjtisn was unfairly taxing them to pay for expenses incurred during French and Indian War. So the Sons of Liberty led by Samuel Adams organized Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty threw the tea overboard into the Harbor. In today's money, it was worth 1,700,00 dollars. -
Intolerable Acts
The British Parliament passed this after the Boston Tea Party. They were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in throwing a large tea shipment into Boston harbor -
First Continental Congress
It was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies. It was also called to response to Intolerable Acts. All 13 colonies met except Georgia because they were hoping British assistance with Native American problems on its frontier and didn't want to upset British. The Congress met briefly to consider options including economic boycott of British trade, rights and grievances, and petitioned King George lll for redress of those grievances. -
American Revolution
It was fought from 1775 to 1783. It began with confrontation between British troops and local militia at Lexington, Concord & Massachusetts. -
Second Continental Congress
It came together since First Continental Congress was a fail. The meeting started soon after warfare in American Revolution had begun. It was agreed a Continental Army would be created to military threat towards the British. The King refused to receive this petition and instead declared the colonies to be at state of rebellion. The voice of this meeting was dealt a serious blow. -
Declaration of Independence
It was adopted by Continental Congress. The 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great British. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. -
Articles of Confederation
The Congress appointed a committee to draw up a plan for permanent Union of states. That plan, our first constitution, was Articles of Confederation. It was adopted by Congress in 1777 and enacted by 1781. The Articles established a national legislature, the Continental Congress, but most authority rested with the state legislatures. -
Shay's Rebellion
It was caused by aggressive taxes and political corruption. Farmers were against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. The rebellion took its name from its leader Daniel Shays of Massachusetts. -
Philadelphia/Constitution Convention
It was to revise the Articles of Confederation into more effective and unified document. Each state appointed delegates to attend a meeting in Philadelphia. It made a radical decision to throw out Articles of Confederation and start fresh developing a frame work for strengthening the power of U.S federal government -
Connecticut Compromise
It was an agreement that large small states reached during the constitutional convention that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under U.S. It was also known as the Great Compromise. Roger Sherman and Okiver Ellsworth proposed this plan.
