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Period: Jan 30, 1200 to
History Dates
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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
It placed limits on royal authority, and made clear that the monarch was not above the law. The document was drawn up after his barons rebelled and forced him to agree to limitations on his power, because he had demanded heavy taxes to fund his unsuccessful wars in France. -
Petition of Rights
Arbitrary arrest and imprisonment for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to Charles and George Villiers. The king himself was not above the law. Coke’s petition focused on Charles’s violations of the law. -
English Bill of Rights
Unless Parliament consented, monarchs could not establish their own courts or act as judges themselves. The English Bill of Rights limited the power of the English sovereign, and was written as an act of Parliament. -
Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Congress met from June 19, 1754 through July 11, in Albany, New York. The Albany Congress was a conference called by British officials for the purpose of improving relations between the American colonies and the Iroquois Confederation. -
Boston Massacre
A squad of British soldiers, come to support a sentry who was being pressed by a heckling, snowballing crowd, let loose a volley of shots. Three persons were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds. -
Boston Tea Party
The “tea partiers” were not protesting a tax hike, but a corporate tax break. It was the British reaction to the Boston Tea Party, not the event itself, that rallied Americans. -
First Continental Congress
Each of the thirteen colonies sent delegates except Georgia. The Congress originally leaned toward endorsing a plan presented by Pennsylvania's Joseph Galloway. The Galloway Plan urged the creation of an American parliament to work with the British Parliament in governing the colonies. -
Second Continental Congress
Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, and named George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. Even though Congress assumed the powers of a national government, it had no legal authority to do so. -
Declaration of Independence
Although Thomas Jefferson is often called the “author” of the Declaration of Independence, he wasn’t the only person who contributed important ideas. Jefferson was a member of a five-person committee appointed by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration. The committee included Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. -
Articles of Confederation
The articles were virtually impossible to amend, so problems could not be corrected. It apportionment of taxes according to the population, granted 1 vote per state, and the right of the federal government to dispose of public lands in the West. -
Shay's Rebellion
The national government under the Articles of Confederation was powerless to raise money to pay back the debt or pay back the soldiers because each law had to be approved by every single state. Out of all this came a general agreement that a stronger federal government was needed. -
Philadelphia Convention
In total, 55 delegates from 12 states were present when the Philadelphia Convention began in May of 1787. These delegates were professional men, with over half of them lawyers, and as such they carried an aura of wealth and power. -
The Virginia Plan
The purpose is to protect the large states' interests in the new government. Supporters of the Virginia Plan include James Madison, George Washington, Edmund Randolph, and the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. -
New Jersey Plan
Federal laws were supreme over state laws. It called for Congress to select an executive council, which would serve one four-year term, and which would be subject to recall by state governors.
