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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Magna Carta was written by a group of 13th-century barons to protect their rights and property against the king. It was important in the colonization of America as Englands legal system was used as a model for many of the colonies as they were developing their own legal system. -
Jamestown settled
The Jamestown Settlement established the first permanent English settlement in the New World, and was the Birthplace of America. -
Mayflower Compact written
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of the Plymouth colony.The Mayflower Compact also contained words showing their allegiance to the King. They still considered themselves a part of the English people, even though they had separated from them because of religious reasons. -
Petition of Right
Document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing. The petition contains restrictions on non-parliamentary taxation, soldiers and sailors should not be lodged in private persons, imprisonment without cause, and restricts the use of material law. -
English Bill of Rights
Act of the Parliament of England. It lays down limits on the powers of the king and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement for regular elections to Parliament and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. -
Albany Plan of Union
Albany Plan,proposed by Benjamin Franklin, was the first step towards uniting the colonies. It was made for all the colonies to come together and organize for common defense against France. -
Stamp Act
It was the first direct tax imposed by Britain on its American colonies.The Act was created to help cover the cost of maintaining troops in the colonies.Under the Stamp Act, all printed materials and commercial documents as well as printed material including, newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards, were taxed and had to carry a special stamp. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was when British troops,who were stationed to protect colonial officals, fired into the crowd,killing 5. This event unified the colonists to go against the British. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the first physical act that showed that the colonists were fighting for their rights. The colonists protested the Tea Act by dressing up as Native Americans and in the middle of the night,overthrew the tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, series of laws in retaliation were aimed at the colonies trying to bring them back into the submission of the King. The acts took away Massachusetts of self-government and historic rights. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from twelve colonies (Georgia was not present) that met on September 5, 1774, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in reponse to the Intolerable Acts passed by British Parliament. The goal of the Congress was to resolve the differences between England and the colonies. -
American Revolution begins
War in which the thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. Ended when a combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781. -
Second Continentral Congress
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.The Second Continental Congress established the Militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. -
Declaration of Independence
Announced that the 13 colonies regarded themselves as independant states and no longer a part of the British Empire.
Most quoted for it's line
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -
Articles of Confederation
During the American Revolution, the U.S. needed a functioning government. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution in our nation's history. -
Shay's Rebellion
Lasted from 1786 to 1787. Farmers in central and western Massachusetts suffered from high debt . As a result sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison. The farmers in western Massachusetts organized their resistance, lead by Daniel Shays -
Constitution Convention
Worked to create a new government consisting of three branches. One to make laws, the second to carry out the laws, and the third to settle legal arguments. -
Philadelphia Convention
Congress didn't have enough power to enforce laws with the Articles of Confederation so they called a convention to revise the articles into a stronger document.As a result of the convention, they got rid of the articles which allowed the delegates to shift the power & begin making the U.S. Constitution. -
Connecticut Compromise
It was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention.It stated that states would be represented equally in the Senate, & proportionately in the House of Representatives.
