-
Jun 1, 1215
Signing of the Magna Carta
magna carta factsSeries of written promises between the king and his subjects that the king would govern England and deal with its people according to the customs of feudal law. King John signed the Magna Carta and it was signed in a meadow in Egham, Surrey, South England. The document forced the King to not have all authority over everyone. -
Mayflower Compact
Sighed by 41 english colonists, The Mayflower Compact was the first written framework of government established in what now is the United States. The compact is drafted to prevent dissent among Puritains and non-separatist Pilgrams who landed at Plymouth a few days earlier. -
Petition of Rights
Parliamentary declaration of the rights and liberties of the people, signed by Charles I in the beginning of his reign (1628),
The petition demanded:
1.that no freeman should be forced to pay any tax, loan, or benevolence, unless in accordance with an act of parliament;
2. that no freeman should be imprisoned contrary to the laws of the land;
3. that soldiers and sailors should not be billeted on private persons;
4. commissions to punish soldiers and sailors by martial law should be abolis -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of rights limits the power of the soverign and sets out the right of parliment and rules of freedom of speech in parliment and the right to petition the monarch without fear or retribution. The document was signed by William and Mary in order to end the Glorious Revolution. -
Albany Plan of Union
The goal of this plan was to unify the government of the thirteen colonies. Ben Franklin suggested this plan however, it never happend. The most popular political cartoon is the Join or Die Snake. -
French and Indian War
French and Indian war InfoThe French and Indian War took place between Great Britian, France and American Indians. Major battles took place at Fort Necessity, Monghela River and Lake George. The result of the war was a British victory. Our relationship with Britian became much worse as a result of this war and the taxes that came with it. -
King George III takes power
When King George was in charge, it was during the French and Indian war. He believed that colonies should have to pay for parts of the war, which angered the colonists. As a result there was less cooperation and more hate between the colinists and the British. -
Stamp Act
This tax taxed papers such as legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies. Colonial leaders were enraged by this tax and as a result colonies sent representitives to New York to the Stamp Act Congress to talk about the Stamp Act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an event that occured in America when a mob went to the customs office and killed five colonists. This incident occured because of the passing of the townshend act, which caused a high british military presence in Boston. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an event formed by a political group called The Suns of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty threw tea into the Boston Harbor as a result of the tea tax that was put on tea in the colonies without the consent of the colonists. The British responded to this by passing the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were the name for a series of laws passed by the British Parliament after the Boston Tea party. The provisions of this act were;
1. Britain closed all ports untill the colonists payed for the tea they destroyed during the Boston Tea Party.
2. Britain restricted colonists to hve town meetings
3. Britian forced colonists to house troops whenever, wherever in the colonists homes
4. The british officials who were accused of crimes would stand trial in Britain -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress had only twelve colonies involved. The meeting took place in Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia. It was called for because of the Coervice Acts. Patrick Henry and Joseph Galloway were two of the main figureheads involved. As a result of this meeting, the colonies decided to boycott british good. -
Lexington and Concord
Video: Lexington and ConcordThe battle of Lexington and Concord was the first engagement between the American Colonists and the British Army. The result of this battle was the beggining of the Revolutionary War. The generals for the British were Francis Smith, Hugh Percy, and John Ptcairn. The generals on the American side were James Barrett, John Buttrick, John Parker. Paul Revere also helped the colonists by warning the villages that the British were coming. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies that started meeting in the summer of 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. This congress develpoed the Articlas of Confederation and other idea such as one vote for each state. Thomas Jefferson and Richard Henry Lee were two of the colonial leaders involved in the Second Contnental congress. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776. This announced that the thirteen american colonies now regarded themselves as independent states and not part of the British Empire. -
Articles of Conferderation
The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. The first president under The Articles of Confederation was John Hanson. The Articles established a weak central government that mostly, prevented the individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy. -
Start of Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Conventiono began May 25, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It addressed problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain.
