Foundations of American Government Timeline

By Carcox
  • John Trumbull, Sr.

    John Trumbull, Sr.
    Governor of Connecticut; refused to support British Army; only governor to side with patriots
  • John Peter Muhlenburg

    John Peter Muhlenburg
    Preacher that supported the Continental Army; Recruited large numbers of people for the army through his preachings and sermons; During a sermon he preached that it is a time of war, within and hour after the sermon 162 men enlisted
  • Declaration of Independence

    Declaration of Independence
    A document given to the King of Britain declaring the the colonies independent from British rule. They felt like they were having rights taken away, so they wanted to leave.
  • Benjamin Rush

    Benjamin Rush
    A signer of the Declaration of Independence; Known as the, "Father of American Medicine"
  • John Hancock

    John Hancock
    The first person to sign the Declaration of Independence; President of the Second Continental Congress
  • Charles Carrol

    Charles Carrol
    Signed the Declaration of Independence
  • John Witherspoon

    John Witherspoon
    Signed the Declaration of Independence; Became President of the New Jersey College, known today as Princeton
  • Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin
    Helped draft the Declaration of Independence and Constitution; negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris; invented Bifocals and organized the first successful lending library
  • "E Pluribus Unum

    "E Pluribus Unum
    (Latin) "Out of many comes one." Motto of the U.S. Several states together untied to form a nation
  • James Madison

    James Madison
    Wrote the First drafts of Constitution; Cowrote the Federalist Papers; Became President in 1808
  • U.S. Constitution

    U.S. Constitution
    A document that established the structure of the American government
  • Alexander Hamiltion

    Alexander Hamiltion
    The nations first Secretary of Treasury; Had a bad temper and would duel people in the streets, met his untimely demise in a duel
  • John Jay

    John Jay
    Helped write the Federalist Papers; First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;negotiated boundary treaty with England
  • Bill of Rights

    Bill of Rights
    A document which was a list of guaranteed rights, people wanted know that certain rights were not allowed to be taken so they made a list of unalienable rights.
  • Eminent Domain

    Eminent Domain
    An idea that private property can not be taken for public use without proper compensation; Covered in the Fifth Amendment in Bill of Rights
  • Alex de Tocqueville and His 5 Prinicples

    Alex de Tocqueville and His 5 Prinicples
    French man originally sent to America to study prison system;wrote "Democracy in America" which was book of America that had 5 key points:
    Liberty- protection from tyrannical government; Egalitarianism- society of equals; Individualism- government didn't direct individual activity, and people could flourish despite hereditary distinctions; Populism- common people could participate in government; Laissez-Faire- government has little to do with economy
  • "In God We Trust"

    "In God We Trust"
    The official American motto, when it replaced E Pluribus Unum; First appeared on the US money in 1864; Though it has been opposed by some the courts ruled it as ceremonial, not religious.