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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
King John was forced to sign this document in 1215. The document established the principle of limited government. The Magna Carta provided for protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life, liberty, and property except according to law. The king was forced to agree that certqain taxes could not be levied without popular consent. This document originally only applied to nobility, but over the years other groups won political liberties. -
Virginia House of Burgesses
this house was the first legislature in America. It met for the first time just 12 years after the settlement of Jamestown. The legislature was made up of a representative assembly and was the first of many to come. These legislatures were needed to make new laws for the rapidly growing colonies so that they could cope with the constantly changing circumstances. The legislature had the consent of the governed. -
Mayflower Compact
The compact was the first example of many colonial plans for self-government. 41 men representing their families drew up the compact in the cabin of the small ship. The men agreed that they needed rules to govern themselves in the new land. They made their own laws and chose their own leaders for their own benefit. The Mayflower was anchored off of the New England coast at the time. -
English Bill of Rights
This document set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do. The bill applied to the American colonies as well. The document established that monarchs do not have a divine right to rule and that the monarch must have parliament's consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, or maintain an army. It also established that the monarch cannot interfere with parliamentary elections and debates. The document also secured some basic individual rights was rather important to the Founding Fathers. -
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French and Indian War
The war started as a struggle between the French and British over area in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The war threatened Britain's hold on the American continent. In 1756 other European countries became involved in this war. Britain ended up winning the war and gained control of what would be later known as the eartern United States. The war left Britain with a large debt and made it so the colonies no longer needed protection from the French. -
Stamp Act
This was the first direct tax on the American colonies. The act required tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers, etc. The act was widely opposed by the colonists and was repealed a few months after it was commenced. The act was one of the first sparks of the revolution. Soon after repealing the Stamp Act, parliament imposed another series of taxes that were also widely opposed by colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists dressed as Mohawk Native Americans, emptied 342 crates of British tea into the Boston harbor. This "tea party" was a protest against British taxes. The British had been taxing the colonies heavily for the past decade. The colonies resented the increased taxes not only because they were more, but because the taxes benefited Great Britain much more than the colonies. In addition to this event, the colonists boycotted other goods and protested in other ways against the taxes. -
First Continental Congress
This Congress was prompted into convening by the Intolerable Acts. Delegates from all of the colonies except Georgia were present. The Congress decided to pass an embargo or to ban trade with Great Britain. They also agreed to meet again in a year if Great Britain did not come to its senses. Instead of going the way the colonists wanted, Great Britain strengthened its policies. -
Lexington and Concord
The first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought at Lexington and Concord. At Lexington, the colonial militia was outnumbered and forced to fall back. At Concord the colonial troops were of a greater number and were able to inflict heavy casualties on the British regulars. The battle at Concord becam known as the "shot heard around the world." Basically, it let the British know that the colonists would not go down without a fight. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775. The Congress assumed the powers of a central government due to the times of war. John Hancock was chosen as the president of the congress. The Congress voted to organize an army, navy, and to issue money. In addition, it made George Washington the commander of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence
This was the document in which the colonies officially declared their independence from Great Britain. This document was not acknowledged by Britain for quite some time, though. Thomas Jefferson was appointed to write this soon to be famous draft. John Hancock was the first man to sign this historical document. The document ended up holding all 56 delegates' signatures. -
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Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the government that the colonies went with before the Constitution. The government included a single-chamber Congress. Each state got one vote in this congress. The only powers the national government had were in foreign affairs and defense. All of the other powers were left to the state government. This was a very inefficient form of government because it lacked power to maintain a unifed country. -
Peace Treaty with Great Britain
This treaty officially ended the Revolutionary War. The allies of the newly formed country had separate peace treaties with Great Britain. Benjamin Franklin was among the delegates in Paris representing the United States. The concessions to the Americans were very beneficial (for they had won the war). America's allies received a number of territorial benefits as well. -
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Shay's Rebellion
The economic problems produced by the Articles of Confederation led to a rebellion. Farmers armed themselves and caused courts to close so they could not foreclose on farms. Daniel Shays was the leader of this rebellion and he led some men to close the Massachusetts state supreme court. When things did not go as he wanted them to, Shay led 1200 men to the federal arsenal in Springfield. The Massachusetts militia was able to put down the rebellion, but the crisis frightened American leaders. -
Constitutional Convention
This convention was put together to decide on a better form of government. Its delegates were very experienced in politics and many had had a hand in writing their states' constitutions. The presence of George Washington ensured people that the Convention was doing good work. There were two sides in this convention: the small states led by New Jersey and the large states led by Virginia. A compromise was reached between the two and the Constitution was created in September of 1787. -
The Virginia Plan
The fifteen resolutions that James Madison drafted for the Articles became known as the Virginia Plan. It proposed a government based on a strong national legislature with two chambers. A strong national executive who would be chosen by the national legislature was also proposed. In addition, it was proposed that a national judiciary be appointed by the legislature. The "nationalists" were the ones who developed this plan and made themselves look good by coming up with a complete idea. -
New Jersey Plan
This was a counterproposal made by the smaller states against the Virginia plan for the Constitution. The plan called for a representative court in which each state got one vote. They also proposed that congress be allowed to impose taxes and regulate trade. Lead by New Jersey they proposed a weak executive of more than one person to be elected by congress. Finally, a national judiciary with limited power would be appointed by the executive. -
3/5 Compromise
This was an agreement to help decide the number of representatives each state would have in the House. The southern states wanted their slaves to count as population for House representative purposes, but they did not want them to count for taxes. The northern states wanted the slaves to count for taxes, but not for representatives. The compromise came out to be that each slave would count as 3/5 of a normal citizen. They would count for representation and for the levying of taxes. -
Connecticut Compromise
A special committee was put together to create a compromise between supporters of the Virginia Plan and for supporters of the New Jersey Plan. The delegation proposed that congress be as it is today with the Senate and House. In the Senate, every state would send two representatives. The representatives of the House would be determined by the population of the state. This allowed both sides to be appeased and for a successful compromise to be created. -
Commerce/Slave Trade Compromise
This was a third compromise reached by the Constitutional Convention. It was determined that Congress could not ban the slave trade until 1808 to appease the southern states. To appease the northern states, it was determined that Congress would regulate interstate and foreign commerce. Congress was forbidden to impose export taxes to protect the South's exports, however. The U.S. is one of the few countries today that does not tax its exports. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments in the U.S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights was an essential piece to the Constitution. Without the Bill of Rights the Constitution may not have been ratified. The ten amendments guaranteed a number of liberties that U.S. citizens felt they could not live without. People felt that without these guarantees the government would gain too much power. -
Rhode Island Ratifies
This was the date when Rhode Island finally ratified the Constitution. The Constitution had already been in effect for about two years, but it was good to have every state ratify it. It was a big moment because it showed that the country was unified and not on a divided front. The Constitution had only needed nine of the thirteen states to ratify it for it to go into effect. It was probably a good decision for Rhode Island to ratify, for if they didn't they would have been in a rough spot.
