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Sep 13, 1215
Magna Carta
"The Great Charter"; King John was forced to sign this document which established the principle of limited government -
Virginia House of Burgesses
the first legislature in America; established 12 years after the settlement of Jamestown -
Mayflower Compact
stands as the first example of many colonial plans for self-government; fourty-one men wrote the compact on board the Mayflower -
English Bill of Rights
set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do; applied to American colonists -
Period: to
French and Indian War
struggle between the French and British over lands in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio; Great Britain eventually won and gained control of disputed lands -
French and Indian War
(description with timespan) -
Stamp Act
imposed the first direct tax on the American colonists; required taxes on documents, pamphlets, newspapers, dice, and playing cards -
Boston Tea Party
a group of colonists, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into the Boston Harbor to oppose taxes imposed by Great Britain -
First Continental Congress
Intolerable Acts drove Virginia and Massachusetts to call a meeting of the colonies; delegates debated what to do and finally decided to impose an embargo on Great Britain -
Lexington and Concord
British Redcoats clashed with Colonial Minutemen at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts; referred to as "the shot heard 'round the world"; first battle of the Revolutionary War -
Declaration of Independence
final draft of the Declaration is approved; 56 delegates and the president of the congress signed; written by Thomas Jefferson -
Period: to
Second Continental Congress
instructed the colonies to write their own constituitions; proposed the Articles of Confederation as a stronger form of government -
Second Continental Congress
(description with timespan) -
Articles of Confederation
continued the structure and operation of government as established under the Second Continental Congress -
Treaty of Paris
Britain recognized America's independence under this treaty; enlarged the nation's boundaries -
Shay's Rebellion
armed groups of farmers forced several courts to close to prevent farm foreclosures; the Massachusetts militia put down the rebellion -
Constitutional Convention
all states except Rhode Island sent delegates; the Convention began by unanimously voting George Washington to preside over meetings; delegates eventually agreed to abandon the old government and start over again -
Virginia Plan
introduced by Edmund Randolph; made up of 15 resolutions drafted by James Madison; proposed a government based on three principles: a strong national legislature with two chambers, a strong national executive to be chosen by the national legislature, and a national judiciary to be appointed by the legislature -
New Jersey Plan
proposed by William Paterson; counterproposal to the Virginia Plan; called for government based on keeping the major feature of the Articles of Confederation - a weak executive power -
Connecticut Compromise
a compromise signed by a special committee; suggested that the legislative branch have two parts: a House of Representatives and a Senate -
Three Fifths Compromise
settled the arguement over how much slaves counted in representation; three-fifths of enslaved people in the South were to be counted for both tax and representation -
Compromise of Commerce and the Slave Trade
delegates determined that Congress could not ban the slave trade until 1808, but gave Congress the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce -
Rhode Island Ratifies
the political debate for ratification lasted until Rhode Island finally voted for approval; Constituiton went into effect when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify in 1788 -
Bill of Rights
James Madison introduced a set of amendments during the first session of Congress which were approved; these ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights
