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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
King John of England signed the Magna Carta at the Windsor Castle in the Meadow ay Runnymede. The Magna Carta preserved basic legal rights of all free men in England, trial by jury and punishment fitting. -
The Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact linkThis compact promised to write a constitiution, freedom from religion and a new King. This compact was written by the Pilgrams to bind them together and keep order. -
Petition of Rights
A few rights granted from this petition were no free man should be forced to pay any tax, no freeman should be imprisoned contrary to laws of the land, soldiers and sailors should not be billeted on private persons and commissions to punish soldiers and sailors by marital law should be abolished. John Adams, Fredrick A. Muhlenberg, John Buckey and Sam A. Otis signed this document. -
English Bill of Rights
William III and Mary II were the 2 main parties that drafted this. Rights that were added included rights to free speach and press, the right to bear arms, and the right to protection from random searches in your home -
Albany Plan of Union
Benjamin Franklin suggested the Albany Plan of Union. It was a plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized government. This plan was never accepted. The picture seen is the famous political cartoon associated, it is called "Join or Die". -
French and Indian War
The major players in this conflict were the British and the french who were alled with native indians. Major battles in this war include the French taking ft. Oswego, the British defeated at ft. Duquesne, Massacre at ft. William Henry, and the Battle of Quebec. Britian ultimately won this war which also created another problem which was dealing with the uncooperative colonist that didn't want to help fund a war they didn't participate in. -
King George III Takes Power
King George III takes power King George changed the relationship with the colonist because he expected the colonist to help fund the war knowing the shortage of funds that they had. He also expected them to pay to have protection from british soldiers. -
Stamp Act
The passing of this act started the taxing on good such as ships paper, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, and just about anything else paper. This didn't go over well with the colonist, so a couple of the leaders went to the House of Burgess and proposed the Stamp Act Resolutions. Not all of the resolutions were accepted but enough were to make a difference. -
Boston Massacre
A total of 5 protesting colonist were killed due to many different issues but mainly the passing of the Townshend Acts -
Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party Video The Libertarian party or Massachusettes patriots organized the Boston Tea Party. This was a protest on the monopoly on American tea importation. The British responded with the Intolerable Acts and closed the Boston ports. -
Intolerable Acts
The reason the British passed these acts was because of the Boston Tea Party. The British closed all of Boston's ports until the colonists payed for the tea they destroyed. The British restricted the colonists to have town meetings and the British were allowed to house troops in colonists homes. -
First Continental Congress
Ben Franklin, George Washington, Sam Adams, John Adams and Patrick Henry were major personalities involved with this event. The Plan of Union of Great Britian and the Colonies, The Suffolk Resolves and Declaration of Rights are all outcomes of this meeting. It took place in Philadelphia. -
Lexington and Concord
Lexington and Concord resulted in the colonist winning their independence. The two sides were led by Paul Revere, Colonel Smith, Lord Percy, and Commander Barrett. Paul Revere played a large role in this because he rode around the town screaming that the British were coming which prepared them for the fight they would eventually win. -
Declaration of Independence
Once the armed conflict started between two parties (Britian and the USA), a five man group including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Ben Franklin gathered the exact intentions of the colonies and drafted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress took place in Philadelphia, same as the First Continental Congress.America's Independence from Britian and the Articles of Confederation are two of the main ideas that came about from this meeting. The colonial leaders involved were John Hancock, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, it left most power with the state governments. John Hanson was the first president under the Articles of Confederation. -
Start of Constitutional Congress
Delegates began to assemble in Philadelphia to help an economic crisis, inter-state quarels and new nations leaders were frusterated with the limited power they were receiving.
