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Period: Sep 1, 1215 to
Events and Documents in Government
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Sep 17, 1215
Magna Charta
King John was forced by nobles to sign the Magna Charta. This limited his power as a leader and guaranteed due process in England. It allowed the formation of a parliment. -
Jamestown Settled
The Jamestown colony was the first permanent English settlement in America. The settlers were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London to go there and hopefully expand English trade and to make a nice profit. Jamestown was the capital in the colonies for 83 years. -
Mayflower Compact written
The Mayflower Compact was the first written laws of the new settlers and was written for the general good of the community and with majority rule in mind. The Compact established that the new colony would be free of English law, The government would be set up within themselves, and laws would be written by the governed. -
Petition of Right
This was a statement of civil liberites the English Parliament sent to King Charles I. It comprised of four major principles: no taxes could be levied without consent of Parliament, no one could be imprisoned without being told why, no one could be forced to house soldiers, and marital law could not be used in time of peace. -
English Bill of Rights
The act described the abuses of power King James II took against the people of England, including trying to overturn the laws and customs of the country and do away with the Protestant religion. It mandated that the King was subject to the law. It prohibited martial law and established that taxes could only be levied by Parliament and prisoners could challenge their sentences by writ of habeas corpus. -
Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Union is the British attempt to create a union of the thirteen colonies right before the French and Indian War. The main purpose was to keep the peace with Indians, but the British wanted to use the union as defense against the French. It was quickly rejected. -
Stamp Act
This act required colonists to pay a tax on printed paper, including legal documents, licenses, newspapers, and even playing cards. This made the people angry because this was a direct attempt by the English to raise money in America without consent of the colonial legislatures. -
Bosten Massacre
A group of British soldiers felt threaten by a group of about sixty colonists and opened fire. Eleven colonists were killed or injured that day and after that outrage and unity in America grew. John Adams defended the soliders in court, and 6 of them were acquitted, while 2 others were convicted. -
Bosten Tea Party
Colonists were angered by the British East India Company and their ridiculous tax on tea. That night a group of white men dressed as Indians crept onboard tea ships and dumped barrels of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates elected by the people met in secret shortly after the passing of the Intolerable Acts. They wanted to show a combined authority against the British for the grievances they felt. -
Intolerable Acts
The British passed these acts as a way to break the colonists spirits. Only firewood and food were allowed into port, town meetings were banned, and the royal governor's power was increased. It closed the port of Boston, brought Massachussetts under Parliament control and forced colonists to house British soldiers. -
American Revolution begins
In this time period, the colonies decide to seperate themselves from Britain due to conflicts between British government and the American colonies' government. A war broke out and the Colonies prevailed, gaining independence. -
Second Continental Congress
At this meeting, which occurred right after the battle of Lexington and Concord, they established the militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. They also elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence
Established that the colonies were independent from Britain. This layed out the basic principles of the new nation and addressed why the seperation had to occurr. Signers knew they would be considered traitors and could die.This document sufficiently proclaimed America's independence from England. -
Articles of Confederation
Losely binded the 13 colonies into one nation. Allowed states to retain sovereignty, with the national congress settling disputes between states. Granted national government little power beyond control of army and ability to create new currency. This was the first constitution of the United States. They gave most of the power to the individual states instead of to a central government. -
Shays' Rebellion
After the American Revolution, farmers hit hard by economic depression and very much in debt, petitioned the state senate to print paper money and halt foreclosures on their properties. When they didn't, farmers following the lead of Daniel Shays forcibly stopped the courts from sitting and deliberating on judgments about their debts. It produced a need for a strong Constitution to replace the weak Articles of Confederation. -
Philadephia Convention
Our founding fathers met in Philadelphia to address the fact that our Articles of Confederation needed to be rewritten because the system wasn't working anymore. It was there that they discussed ideas for what should be included in our constiution, and ideas like the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, and the Connecticut Compromise were discussed. -
Consitutional Convention
Delegates met to work out the details of a new Constitution. Much debate was discussed and the result is the United States Constitution, laying out the law of the land and establishing rights in the United States. -
Connecticut Compromise
Two suggestions were proposed: the Virginia Plan, which called for states to have representatives based on the state's population, and the New Jersey Plan, which called for each state to have the same number of representatives. This was the compromise to the conflict which stated that an equal number of representatives would go to the Senate, while the number in the House of Representatives would be based on population.
