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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was signed by King John in 1215. It was written to take power away from the English monarchy and end the absolute monarchy. It made it so that the monarchs were included under the law. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower compact was written by the pilgrims in 1620. It was written to establish a government in their new settlement and make sure they got the freedoms that they had come there for. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was signed by William III and Mary II. It outlined the rights and duties of English citizens. It also gave parliament power over the monarchy. -
Cato's Letters
Cato’s letters were written by Cato the Elder and Cato the younger. They talked about the corruption and tyranny in Great Britain. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is a country selling more goods than it is buying -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian war, also known as the Seven Years War, was just one fight in the long power struggle between Great Britain and France. It started because France expanded into the Ohio River Valley. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act was the first in a series of acts imposed by England on the colonies. It imposed a tax on all paper imported from England. -
Declaratory Act
The declaratory acts were imposed on the same day that the stamp act was repealed. It gave England total legislative power over the colonies. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend acts were written by the British parliament in 1767. They were created to tax many different British goods being imported to America. This was the start of colonists realizing the unfairness of their situation because they didn’t have a spot in parliament. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred on King Street in Boston. It started out as just a small fight between some colonists and a British soldier but then became a large fight which ended in many deaths and bloody slaughter. -
Tea Act
The tea act was written by the British parliament in 1773. This act taxed British imported tea which all colonists drank every day and culminated in the Boston Tea Party later that year. -
Boston Tea Party
During the Boston Tea Party was an event in 1773 where a group of colonists dumped boxes of tea into the Boston harbor. They did this in protest of the acts that were being imposed upon them and in protest of “taxation without representation”. -
Intolerable Act/ Coercive Act
The coercive acts were a series of acts that would later be called the intolerable acts by the colonists. Some of the things in this act included: closing of all the Boston port, the quartering act, and many others. -
First Continental Congress
The continental congress was the first government in the colonies. The First Continental Congress was made up of delegates from all 13 colonies who made decisions as a unit and held in Philadelphia. -
Lexington & Concord
Lexington and Concord is the first battle of the revolutionary war. It marked the beginning of years of fighting to come. During this battle was when Paul Revere had his famous night ride. -
Second Continental Congress
The second continental congress was held in Philadelphia. This one was held after the revolutionary war had already started. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine in 1776. He wrote it to show his arguments for American independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and a couple of other founding fathers in 1776 to declare our independence from England.
