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Jan 1, 1215
The Magna Carta is signed
The signing of the Magna Carta changed the king's power so that the power of the king was limited and so that he wasn't above the law. -
Jan 1, 1400
One to two million Native Americans populate ten major cultural regions north of Mexico
Two of ten major cultural regions north of Mexico that one to two million Native Americans lived in was the Northwest Coast and California. -
African slaves first brought to Jamestown, Virginia
Slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia because Tobacco planters needed a large number of workers to grow their crops. -
The Mayflower Compact is signed
The Mayflower Compact described the way that pilgrims would govern themselves in the new world. -
First Thanksgiving, celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Indians
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America's first law guaranteeing religious liberty was passed
The first law guaranteeing religious liberty was called Act Concerning Religion which only applied to Christians.
Lord Baltimore, or George Calvert, was given a large part of land between Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, and he saw this as an opportunity to grant religious freedom to Christians in Anglican England. The House of Delegates passed the Act Concerning Religion, also known as the Maryland Act of Toleration, to help grant Christians religious freedom on April 2, 1649. -
English took control of the settlement of New Netherland
The colony was renamed as New Amsterdam -
The first permanent English colony is established in America
The first permanent English colony was Massachusetts, and the group of merchants that formed it were called Puritans, or people who wanted to purify the English Church, and wanted to simplify the church ceremonies and its ranks of authority. -
Fear of Witchcraft began in Salem, Massachusetts
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Enslaved Africans living in every colony
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The First Great Awakening began
The First Great Awakening was started because people had a feeling that they were losing their religious faith. -
13 British colonies in North America were established
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King George III crowned
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Prime Minister George Grenville proposed the Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required colonists to buy a stamp for every piece of paper they used.
The money from the Stamp Act was used to cover the costs of keeping alive the troops in the colonies. The Stamp Act made all American colonists pay taxes for every piece of printed paper they used. For example, legal documents, newspapers, and licenses were all taxed. -
The Quartering Act was passed
The Quartering Act required colonial assemblies to provide British troops with quarters/housing. -
The Townshend Acts passed
The Townshend Acts placed a tax on certain goods. They were usually popular items like glass, paint, paper, and teas imported by colonies from Britain. -
Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, were laws passed to punish the colonists for dumping 342 chests of East India Tea during the Boston Tea Party. These laws included the Boston Port Bill, passed June 1, 1774, which closed the Boston harbor to every ship excluding the ones from Britain, the Quebec Act, passed May 20, 1774, to extend the Canadian borders to cut off the western territories (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia), and more. -
The First Continental Congress meets
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The Revolutionary War began
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Paul Revere warns colonists of the British
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Common Sense is published
The author of the pamphlet was Thomas Paine. -
Second Continental Congress first meet
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Delegates sign the Declaration of Independence
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The British surrender to American troops
During the war, France had become an ally of America. -
The Treaty of Paris is signed
One effect of the treaty was that the United States agreed to give back all property and rights that were taken from Loyalists during the war.