-
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta is Signed
The Magna Carta was the first ever document forced upon an english king by his subjects. The Magna Carta was created in order to lower the king's powers and protect his subjects rightful privileges. King John ended up signing the Magna Carta, which was very important because it showed that the power of a king could be restraigned throughout a written grant. The Magna Carta is important to the history of America, its infulence can be seen in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. -
Mayflower Compact is Signed
The Mayflower Compact was a written agreement that was composed by the new settlers who came first to Amercia.The Compact was the first set of written laws for America by the english people who traveled to America for a better life. This Compact was written to set up a government from within themselves and be free from Englands laws. -
Albany Plan of Union Announced
After the French and Indian wars, the colonies were put under the many strains, that made them distant and easily angered by one another. English officials created a union in Albany New York that declared each colonial legislature would elect delegates to a continental assembly that would be looked over by a govenour. This would prevent tension and hardships between colonies. -
Congress Meets for the First Time
Congress meet for the first time from September 5-October 26 1774 in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. All of the colonies except for Georgia sent delegates. They met to find resolutions to their problems with England. -
Formation of the New England Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were formally considered the first constitution of the United States. It was drafted by Congress and gave Congress the power to direct the Revolutionary War and to conduct diplomacy with Europe and conduct trade affairs. This confederation type of governement became weak and powerless and was replaced later on with a federal government. -
Articles of Confederation Signed
The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all thirteen states on March 1, 1781. Unfortunatley these Articles proved to be a weak central government, and they left most of the states leading with their own power. -
Newburgh Conspiracy
The Newburgh Conspiracy was when soliders became afraid that they wouldn't recieve pay for their work fighting in the war from Congress. George Washington was able to stop all of the talk and convience the men to stand by Congress and instead accept five years of full pay. -
Treaty of Paris (1783) Signed
This treaty was signed between the American colonies and Great Britian. This treaty ended the American Revolution and recognized the American states as an independent nation. The three American negotiators who helped create this treaty, were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay. -
Spain Closes Mississippi River
Spain was jealous and wanted more land that was just beyond what they orriginally were given and allowed to obtain in America.In order to get the point across to the American citizens, they decided to close off the river to the farmers who were trying to ship their goods across up the Mississippi River because it was faster and cheaper than by land. (please note there was no official date this happened, it happened for a year) -
Land Ordinanace of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was a law passed that allowed sales of land in the Northwest territory and set up standards for selling mile-per-square sections of land. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's rebellion was a clash between the farmers and the courts in Massachusetts. Because the taxes were so high, many poorer farmers could hardley make enough to pay them off. When they couldn't pay them off, local sheriffs seized farms and the people who couldn't pay the taxes were put in prison. The famers became angry and one man with the name Shay took charge and tried to hold up/ shut down the courts in MA. He tried to take down the court in Boston, but failed, but America still noticed. -
Annapolis Convention
The Annapolis Convention was when delegates from 12 states came together for a convention to help the defects of the federal government. Unfortunately not enough states were present to make a final decision, so their plans went to Congress and a broader meeting was to be schedualed in May. -
Ordinance of Religious Freedom
The Ordinance of Religious Freedom stated that Christianity must be brought in some way into public schools. This document basically provides the respect to the establishment of religion and honors it by putting it into schools. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 put everyone on notice that the land north of the Ohio river and east of the Mississippi would be settled and ultimately become part of the United States. -
The Great Compromise Agreed to
The Great Compromise was also known as the Connecticut Compromise and it was an agreement between the smaller and larger states during the Constitutional Convention. This Compromise helped define the legislature structure and the amount of representation that each state would have under the Constitution. -
Constitutional Convention Opens
The Constitutional Convention,(also known as the Philadelphia Convention) took place to address the growing problems about governing America, which had been haappening under the Articles of Confederation. The result of this Convention was the United States Constitution. -
Deleware Ratifies
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, by a unanimos vote of 30-0. -
Massachusetts Ratifies Constitution
Massachusetts ratified the Constitution on February 6, 1788. Massachusetts at first disagreed with the Constitution and disagreed to ratify the Constitution. In the end Massachusetts ended up reccomending several amendments to the Constitution, which included the Bill of Rights. -
Federalist Papers Appear
The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 articles that promoted the ratification of the United States of America. -
Constitution sent to States for Ratification
On June,21,1788 New Hampshire the final and ninth state ratified the Constitution. George Washington sent the Constitution to different states to get the Constitution approved. Some states, such as Massachusetts oppossed the Constitution, and therefore compromises had to be made. -
New Hampshire Ratifies Constitution
New Hampshire ratified the Constitution on June 21,1788 the votes ended up being, 57-47. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. -
George Washington is Elected President
On April 30, 1789 George Washington took the oath to become the president of the United States of America on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York. -
Anti-Federalist Articles Appear
The Anti-Federalist Papers were a collection of articles written up to oppose the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1787. These papers happened throughout 1787-1789, there was no exact date -
Bill of Rights sent to the States for Ratification
Twelve Amendments were introduced as the Bill of Rights, but only ten made it through to become the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights consider to be fundamental to the Constitution. -
Bill of Rights Ratified
The Bill of Rights was finally ratified on December 15 1791, the first ten amendments. They defined the citizen's rights in relation to our newly discovered government.
