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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
agreed by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor
goal was to make peace between the King and the barons; it promised to the protection of church rights, illegal imprisonment, and limitations on feudal payments -
Jamestown settled
first settlement of the Virgina Colony and served as the capital of Virgina until 1699. selected because it could be easily defended from attacks by European states -
Mayflower Compact written
first governing document of Plymouth Colony, written by Congregationalists who called themselves "Saints" -
Petition of Right
English document that promoted the civil rights of the subjects of King Charles I; written by Parliament to overreach authority from King Charles I: no taxes without Parliament's consent, no quartering of soldiers in civilians homes, no martial law used in peacetime -
English Bill of Rights
act that dealt with constitutional matters and laid out basic civil rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion; it limited the powers of the king and queen -
Albany Plan of Union
plan to place the British North American colonies under a more controlled government; adopted by representatives from seven of the British North American colonies -
Stamp Act
passed by the British Parliament to impose on all American colonists and required them to pay tax on every piece of printed paper they use. This includes: legal documents, playing cards, newspapers, and licenses -
Boston Massacre
streetfight killing five colonists by the Bristish Parliament, a "patriot" mob throwing stones, sticks, and snowballs; It was the culmination of tensions in the American colonies -
Boston Tea Party
took place on a winter night on a Thursday; growth of the American revolution; it was a cumilation of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which was passed by the British Parliament -
Intolerable Acts
American Patriots' name for series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 which was suppose to punish the colonists of Massachussetts for their misbehavior and throwing the tea into the Boston Harbor -
First Continental Congress
a meeting of representatives from twelve of the thirteen colonies, cslled in response to the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament, which had punished Massachuessets for the Bosten Tea Party -
American Revolution begins
At 5 am, 700 British troops march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker, a shot was fired from an undetermined gun and this starterd the American Revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
convention of representatives from the thirteen colonies that met in the summer of 1775 in Philadelphia after the American Revolutionary War had begun; unlike the First Continental Congress it moved independence, establishing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 -
Declaration of Independence
adopted by the Contential Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that announced the separation of the American Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire -
Articles of Confederation
They were established by the Contential Congress and served as the United State's first constitution from March 1, 1781 to 1789 -
Shay's Rebellion
series of protests by American farmers who were against state and local enforcement of tax collections, they took up arms from New Hampshire to South Carloina, but it was most serious in Massachussetts; four protesters were killed, dozens were wounded and one militia was killed and dozens were injured -
Philadelphia Convention
main purpose was to address problems in governing the U.S.; they decided to create a new government instead of revising the existing one -
Constitutional Convention
took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address issues in governing the U.S. It was to create a new government rather than fixing the first one -
Connecticut Compromise
an agreement that large and small states reached that defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the U.S Constitution
