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Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, England had enough of the colonists, so they decided to close the Boston Harbor until the owners of the tea were compensated for their losses. England's response was to pass the intolerable acts, which were basically 4 punitive measures. These acts were the: Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, and the Quebec Act. This was the spark that the colonists needed so that, ultimately, the Constitution would be created. -
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Common Sense was a pamphlet used to spread the idea of independence from England to American colonists. This united average citizens and political leaders at the time to unite under a common cause: freedom from England and its oppression. -
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
A declaration of rights of the citizen in Virginia adopted by the constitutional convention of the colony of... VIRGINIA (who would've guessed!). This served as a basis for what the Constitution would say in the future. Examples of specific civil liberties include the idea of freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and that no one can be stripped of their liberty unless they break the law. -
Declaration of Independence
A written document which stated that colonies were separating themselves from the country England and claiming their independence as a necessary action. The preamble communicates to everyone that all people are born with rights and the government is there to secure those rights, deriving its power from governed people's consent. At this point, the United States had finally formed and now they were on their way to creating their own, new government. -
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution that the United States adopted. It created a loose alliance among the 13 states and had a weak federal/central government. Most of the power was held by the state government. This served as another step closer to an organized government with power evenly distributed across American society. -
Shay's Rebellion
A series of violent attacks by rebels, mostly consisting of ex-Revolutionary War soldiers who turned into farmers and opposed the economic policies set forth by the government. Generals expected Shays' rebel group and successfully defended the government from being overthrown and the group scattered and Shay and his wife fled to Vermont. People then knew that a change to the constitution had to be made to prevent something like Shays' rebellion from happening again.