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Period: Sep 18, 1200 to
timespan
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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was originally written to create peace when a rebellion broke out. It was signed by King John at Runnymede in Egham, Surrey. This document gave the king restraints and showed him he did not have full law. It also gave the people the right to due process. It was a symbol of freedom from oppression for years to come.
This picture displays the the actual document known as the Magna Carta. -
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 colonists on the ship the Mayflower on their way to the new world. The purpose of the document was to prevent dissent amongst Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims. Every adult male had to sign the document before going ashore. It's now the framework for the government in the United States.
The picture represents the ship known as the Mayflower in which this document was written and signed. -
Petition of Rights
During the reign of King Charles I, parliament was broken up and the king ruled England on his own. Sir Edward Coke wrote the Petition of Rights to cite the Magna Carta and remind the king that the people get their rights from this document not from him. It focused on everything the king was doing wrong like not giving the people right to due process, protection from the seizure of property, and the right to trial by jury of fellow men. King Charles signed the document but didn't follow it. -
English Bill of Rights
In the reckage of the glorious revolution, King William and Queen Mary of Britian signed the Bill of Rights. It laid down limits of power of parliment and rules of freedom of speech. It also required that parliment to hold regular elections. Finally, it gave the right to petition the monarch. The ideas instiled in this document ran parellel with the ideas of John Locke. By extention this document would inspire our Bill of Rights. -
Albany Plan of Union
This union was proposed by Benjamin Franklin. Its purpose was to try and unify all the colonies under one single government. In the end, it was flatly rejected by both sides. The most popular political cartoon associated with this is known as "Join or Die." The cartoon was made famous by the Pennsylvania Gazette.
This picture is of Benjamin Franklin because he proposed the union and made the cartoon famous through his newspaper. -
King George III taking power
King George III came to power after the death of his grandfather King George II. Before the French and Indian War, the colonists asked for help from Britain. When they came to our aid, it was expensive on Britain's citizens and this made them angry. After he came to our aid and we won the Revolution, the british were infuriated because of there loss of the colonies.
This picture is of the ruler King George III himself. -
French & Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years War, the French and Indian War was between Britain and France. In 1759, the British seized Quebec in an uphill attack at the Battle of Quebec. During the same year, the Battle of Quiberon Bay came out in a British victory and restricted France's navy ability to resupply forces in Canada. The British won the French and Indian War. The major debt from the war lead the rulers to attempt to increase taxes throughtout the colonies. The colonies resisted these taxes. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first tax the British put onto the American colonies. It put a tax on all paper documents in the colonies. The colonists argued that this tax was unconstitutional. They created mobs to intimidate the stamp collectors into resigning. In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.
This picture displays the type of stamp that would be on all paper goods. -
Boston Massacre
A group of British soldiers opened fire on a mass of colonists after they were throwing snowballs and calling the guards names. There were a total of five victims by the end of the tragedy. The conflict came out of the colonists hostilites towards King George and the taxes he imposed on the colonies.
This picture displays the soldiers who were told by King George to open fire on the protesters. -
Boston Tea Party
This video shows an awesome reenactment of the Boston Tea Party including the events leading up to the event and the actual dumping of the tea.A group of Massachsetts Patriots and Sons of Liberty got onto three british tea ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. They were protesting the monopoly on American tea importation. It took these men, who were disguised as Indians, three hours to dump all the tea. Because of this humorous protest, the Boston governer Hutchenson left for England shortly there after.
This picture represents one of the three ships that held the men responsible for dumping the tea into the harbor. -
First Continental Congress
The first session of the congress came together at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. The session included George Washington, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Jay. Peyton Randolph from Virginia was elected the first president of the congress. At the congress, they discussed the oppposition of the Stamp Act. The colonists used the argument "no taxation without representation" to show their opposition.
The picture represents where the first meeting took place at Carpenter's Hall. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts, also know as the Coercive Acts, were a direct result of the Boston Tea Party. The British Parliament passed four acts. The Boston Port Act closed the Boston port. The Massachusetts Government Act altered the Massachusetts government so that it would be under direct British rule. The Administration of Justice Act allowed the governer to move trials of accused officials to other colonies. Lastly, the Quartering Act created a method for housing British troops in America. -
Lexington & Concord
This website allows viewers to experience Paul Revere's famous ride with an interactive map.The Battles of Lexington & Concord started the American Revolutionary War. The key Americans during these battles were General Thomas Gage, John Parker, James Barrett, William Heath, and John Buttrick while the key British leaders were Francis Smith, John Pitcairn and Earl Percy. The famous line, "The british are coming," said by Paul Revere warned the colonial militia that the British troops were coming to seize an arms cache. This war lead to the colonists winning their freedom in 1783. -
Second Continental Congress
Delegates from the 13 colonies came together in Philadelphia at the State House for the Second Continental Congress. Some new delegates included John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. At the meeting they established the Continental Army to represent the 13 states. They also elected Geroge Washington as commander and chief of this army. -
Declaration of Independence
This website allows viewers to sign the declaration, view a timeline of events, and even get to know the many signers of this important document.In mid-June, five men including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin came together to write a document of the colonies' intentions. Jefferson was known as the voice for the patriotic cause so the Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by him. Between July 1st and the 3rd, Franklin and Adams revised the document and on July 4th the delegates voted to adopt the declaration.
This picture is of the Declaration of Independence. -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was a negotiation between America and the British. It ended the Revolutionary War and recognized America's independence. The Continental Congress named five members including John Admas, Ben Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens to represent the United States. Jefferson and Laurens were held up so they didn't really take part. The negotiations also lead the boundaries of the United States to expand between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi River. -
Start of the Constitutional Convention
The people of the United States became aware that the union would break up if the Articles of Confederation weren't replaced soon. Five states met in Annapolis to discuss the issue and planned another convention to occur in Philadelphia with all of the states present. On May 25, 1787 every state except for Rhode Island sent representatives to the convention at Independence Hall to ammend the Articles of Confederation. That idea was thrown out and a plan for a new government started to arise. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution that established the functions of the national government in the United States. It was an agreement among the 13 states that made the United States a confederationIt established a weak government that kept the 13 states from creating their own diplomacy.
The picture shows the first president under the Articles of Confederation, John Hanson.
