-
Passing of the Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were extremely harsh laws put in by Britain for the colonists. They limited the rights of the colonists and used the acts as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. The colonists felt that their natural rights and the right to govern themselves were being violated. The acts ended up uniting the colonists to stand up to Britain and form the first Continental Congress. -
Writing of the Declaration of Rights and Grievances
The colonists wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances to King George III of England to explain how the harsh laws affected them and wanted to find a way to make life easier for the colonists. This helped them become more independent and moved toward independence. -
Period: to
American Revolution
The Americans from the 13 colonies revolted against the British for independence. After the Revolutionary War ended, the colonies came together to form a nation and the Articles of Confederation. The articles were too weak though, so eventually, it was changed to the Constitution. -
Publishing Common Sense
Thomas Paine published his work called Common Sense. In this he talked about arguments in favor of America becoming independent. It helped unify the citizens and the leaders in the colonies. -
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by the colonies to declare their rights to the British government. Thomas Jefferson was a prominent role in writing it. It was the colonies way of declaring themself as an independent nation. The declaration gave many rights to the American colonists. It triggered the need for both a Bill of Rights and the constitution. -
Adoption of the Articles of Confederation
The articles of Confederation was the first official constitution of the united states. It was written during wartime when the US needed some type of unifying document. It states that states were sovereign and congress was there as a last resort authority. This was a problem though because the nation needed a strong central government and there were problems with finances, which caused the need for the new Constitution. -
Shays Rebellion
Shays Rebellion was a group of attacks against government properties in Massachusettes. It was caused by the underpayment of many farmers who fought in the Revolutionary way got barely any to no pay for their efforts. Daniel Shays became the leader of a group and the rebellion was named after him. This uprising against the government increased the need for a strong central government. -
Start of the Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was a meeting that eventually drew up the Constitution of the US. It was motivated by financial issued within the government that led to things such as Shays Rebellion. It also came together because of the need for a stronger central government. The convention got rid of the Articles of Confederation and put the Constitution into effect, which fixed the weaknesses in the articles.
