-
1215
Magna Carta
Established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice, and the right to a fair trial.
significance: The first rule to establish that everyone should be subject to the law. -
Mayflower Compact
English settlers came to America and set rules for self-governance, which the ship they took "Mayflower" is how the name came to be.
significance: The Mayflower Compact created laws for Mayflower Pilgrims and non-Pilgrims alike for the good of their new colony. -
New England Confederation
A military alliance between the New England colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, New Haven, and Massachusetts Bay in the 17th century. The alliance was formed in 1643 to provide joint military support against attacks by Native-Americans, the French, and the Dutch.
significance: it showed that the colonists could separate from England. -
Albany Plan
Suggested by Benjamin Franklin, the Albany Plan is to create a unified government for the thirteen colonies
significance: the unified government could having all powers combined, which can be stronger. -
Stamp Act Congress
(Also, know as the Continental Congress) was the first gathering of representatives from several American colonies gathered in New York to devise a unified protest against British taxation.
significance: The first unified meeting of the colonies to respond to British policies. -
Boston Massacre
British troops try to fire into a mob, result in killing five men and leading to intense public protests.
significance: helped spark the colonists' desire for American independence -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists became frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor.
significance: fueled the tension between Britain and America that ultimately led to the Revolutionary War. -
Intolerable acts
(Also known as the Coercive Acts) a series of British measures passed in 1774 and designed to punish the Massachusetts colonists for the responsible for the Boston Tea Party. For example, one of the laws closed the port of Boston until the colonists paid for the tea that they had destroyed.
significance: They were an important factor contributing to the American Revolution. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States.
significance: The colonies became united -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America which united in the American Revolutionary War.
significance: Established the Continental Army. They made George Washington General of the Army. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The first battle of the American Revolutionary War, also known as "The first shot heard around the world" (The starting point of the American Revolution)
significance: The start of the American War of Independence. -
Period: to
American Revolution War
The 13 colonies in America battle against the British armies for independence. The colonies later won the battle and claim their freedom from the British empire.
significance: The key point of being free from England's control. -
Declaration of Independence
The formal statement was written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.
significance: Contains the ideals or goals of America. -
Siege of Yorktown
(Also known as the battle of the York Town) a victory battle led by George Washington and French troops led by Comte de Rochambeau.
significance: Cemented Washington's reputation as a great leader and eventual election as the first president of the United States. -
Shay's Rebellion
An armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades.
significance: Showed how precarious the future of the United States was if it continued to function with the Articles of Confederation.
