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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was a document forced onto the King of England, John I, to limit his power over law and protect the privileges of the feudal barons of England. The feudal barons wanted to protect their power. -
Mayflower Compact
The first governing document of Plymouth County. It was written by religious separatists who seeked a safe haven to practice their religion. -
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right is a major constitutional document that sets specific liberties onto the subjects that the king is prohibited from infringing. Restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, and restriction of the use of martial law were among the petitions' restrictions. The Petition was signed by King Charles I. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights laws down limits on the powers of the crown, who at that time was William and Mary, and sets out the rights of Parliament, etc. Some laws included the prohibition of royal interference with the law and no taxation by Royal Prerogative. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was between the Nation of France and the united tribes of the Iroquois vs the Nation of Great Britain. The Key Battles of the French and Indian War were:
The British defeat at Ft. Duquesne, French take Ft. Oswego, Battle of Quebec, Battle of Quiberon Bay, and the French surrender at Montreal. The Americans really won the French and Indian War because it secured the western frontier. This event brought tensions between the British and American Colonists. -
Albany Plan of Union
A proposal by the Thirteen Original Colonies to create a unified government, rather than each colony govern their own. -
King George III takes power
George William Frederick siezed the throne on October 25, 1760 up through January 1, 1801. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was an act specifically targeted to tax stamps. The colonial leaders reacted by setting up the Stamp Act Congress to unite as one to protest against the British taxation. -
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre VideoThe Boston Massacre was an incident that occured in the streets of Boston where 5 civilian men where killed and 6 others were injured. The Boston Massacre was during the time in which the Stamp Act was being enforced. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a political protest that was led by the political group The Sons of Liberty. The British responded by passing the Coercive Acts and closed the Boston Port. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable acts are a series of laws that were passed by British power to punish the American colonists. The acts were a direct response to the Boston tea party; The provisions of these acts were: The closing of Boston port, British control of the government of Massuchusetts, allowance of the governor to move trials of accused royal officials to Britain if they could not get a fair trial in Massachusetts, housing of British troops, and extension of British boundaries in Quebec. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental CongressThe First Continental Congress was held at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, PA. 56 of the Thirteen Colonies' delegates were present and among them were: John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Patrick Henry, George Washington, and many more. -
Lexington and Concord
The firsts shots of the Revolutionary War rung out in the towns of Lexington and Concord. The British fought with American colonists who organized themselves into units of militia known as Minutemen. The British ended up retreating. Many major generals involved were Colonel Smith, Major Pitcairn, and Lord Percy. Paul Revere was the esteemed messenger who warned colonists by shouting "The British are coming, The British are coming!" -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was the second convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies. They met in the Pennsylvania State house in Philadelphia, PA. The ideas that came from this convention was the idea of being free. Many colonial leaders were present such as: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document set up by the Continental congress on July 4, 1776 to bring the idea of freedom across the Thirteen colonies. The document formally announced the seperation of the colonies with Great Britain and declared them as individual states. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement between the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. The first president under the articles was John Hanson. -
Start of Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The convention was held to address problems in governing the United States of America, which from that point was following the rules under the Articles of Confederation. The convention's intial use was to fix the government but James Madison and Alexander Hamilton thought to create a new government rather then fix it.
