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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
A peace treaty that was written by King John, a treaty that would keep the peace between him and and his subjects. It demanded that every person had to obey the law, even the king, supporting the idea of today's "Rule of Law". -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower compact was a set of rules for self-governance, an agreement written by the English settlers as they were crossing the ocean for laws and a type of government, for they knew a colony without laws would inlist pandemonium. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was an act that creates a separation of powers, limiting the power of the king and queen, improves the democratic election and empowers freedom of speech. The act was signed in 1689 by William III and Mary II. -
Cato's Letters
Written by Cato the Elder and Cato the Younger, the idea is that they would be able to communicate with the community anonymously about current topics in the colony. Speaking about corruption in the community and warning against possible tyranny. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a battle between the British Colonies against New France, a battle that lasted around 7 years in total. It consisted of many different battles and ended with the Treaty of Paris, permitting the British to take control of Canada but allows the French to keep its West Indian sugar islands. -
Stamp Act
Passed by the British Parliament in 1765, the Stamp Act enforced rules on the American Colonists stating that they would have to pay takes on all paper goods. Items such as legal documents, licenses, newspapers, or any other publications were taxed. The British justification for imposing this law upon the American Colonists was that because they were provided with British troops, they should be taxed. -
Townshend Acts
Written in June of 1776, the Townshend Acts were acts passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to assert authority over the colonies by applying taxes and more. In the first of four, the Revenue Act, taxes were placed on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a bloody massacre against the colonists in the cold months of 1770. The colonists were provoking the British Soldiers but weren't hurting them. Despite that, the Soldiers decided to fire on the colonists, killing 5 and injuring many more. This battle only increased the hate the colonists felt against the British. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was an act written by the British Parliament that gave rights to a tea company in Britain to ship tea to the colonies in America. The exports would be "duty-free". The colonists in Charleston despised the tea act and left the tea on the docks to rot. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that took place on December 16th, 1773 in Boston, Massachusetts. The American colonists, unhappy about the unnecessary taxes on goods, dumped 342 crates of tea imported from a company in Britain. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable (Coercive) Acts were a group of five laws written by the British government with a goal of restoring authority among its colonies. The five acts were called the Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act. -
First Continental Congress
On September 5th, 1774, delegates from the 13 colonies except for Georgia met in Philidelphia to organize a resistance to the British Parliaments Coercive Acts. This started a well-deserved revolution against the British Government. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Fought on April 19th, 1775, the battles kicked off what would be the start of the American Revolution. The tension between the British and the American colonists had become almost overwhelming, and it finally was released in the American Revolution. This war would eventually be what gave Americans their independence. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting that took place on May 10th of 1775 and consisted of delegates from 13 colonies. During the war, they became the acting government for the colonies because they didn't have much of any other choice. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism was a basic law of economics, implying that you sell/export more than you buy/import for higher profits and significant increases in wealth. The concept was used in multiple countries from the late 1700s to the late 1800s but is now considered an outdated concept. -
Common Sense
Common sense was a pamphlet written in 1776 in Philidelphia by Thomas Paine. The idea of the pamphlet was to help the common man understand how to achieve independence from Britain. The importance of this pamphlet was that it helped many people escape from Britians grasp. -
Declaratory Act
Written by the British Parliament in 1776, the Declaratory Act was an act declaring that the British Parliament's taking authority was the same in America as it was in Britain. This act followed the repeal of the Stamp Act, ultimately a victory for the American Colonists. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was an official act written by delegates from all 13 colonies in America, just as simply as it sounds, declaring their independence from British rule. This would go on to be one of the most significant events in American History, simply because America would most likely still be under British rule today had we not created this document.
