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Jun 10, 1215
Magna Carta
Was signed in June 1215 between the barons of Medieval England and King John. The document was a series of written promises between the king and his sujects. -
Petition of Right
It a major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing. Also contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and restricts the use of martial law. -
English Bill of Rights
It was a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament. Talks about limits of powers of sovereign and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament. ETC -
Boston Tea Party
Was a political protest by the SOns of Liberty, against the tax policy of the British government and the East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. -
Albany Plan of Union
Was written by Ben Franklin in 1754 for all 13 colonies to uinte and fight as one power to win the French and Indian war. Also urged colonists to overcome their parochial interests and form a strong union -
Boston Massacre
Was an incident in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men and injured six others. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. -
First Continental Congress
Was a convention of delegates from twelve British North American colonies. Also it was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts (also known as Intolerable Acts by the Colonial Americans) by the British Parliament. -
Second Continental Congress
It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met between September 5, 1774 and October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 -
Declaration of Indeoendence
It was adopted by the Continental Congress , announced that the 13 American colonies then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. -
Shay's Rebellion
Was an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. -
Philadelphia Convention
It was also known as the Constitional Convention. It address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. -
New Jersey Plan
Was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention. It was created in response to the Virginia Plan. -
Articles of Confederation
The original binding document of the United States , served as the supreme law of the land from March 1, 1781 until the ratification of the United States Constitution. -
Virginia Plan
Was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention.
