Important Events
(1774) A meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 American colonies to respond to an increasing aggression from the British
First Continental Congress
This 1770 clash between British soldiers and colonists left 5 people dead
Boston Massacre
This document declared our independence
Declaration of Independence
An agreement during the Constitutional Convention that allowed a states enslaved population to be counted as 3/5ths of their total number for purposes of congressional representation and taxation
A legislative body with a single chamber
Unicameral
(1775-1781) A revolutionary body of America Colonies that served as the national government during the American Revolutionary War
Second Continental Congress
A harsh series of British Laws Passed in 1774 that punished Massachusetts for colonial resistance
Intolerable Acts
The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution
Also known as "The Connecticut Compromise" this resolution settled a dispute between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention
The Great Compromise
A legislative body with 2 chambers
Bi cameral
A political protest where American colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded British Tea Ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water
Boston Tea Party
A conflict between Great Britain and France over control of North America
The French and Indian War
This document, signed and agreed upon by the pilgrims, served as the first social contract in the English colonies
Mayflower Compact
This was a proposal at the Constitutional Convention that suggested a strong centralized government with 3 branches based on proportional representation.
Virginia Plan
Delegates of the Constitutional Convention that developed the "frame"work for the government and wrote the Constitution
Framers
A decree issued by King George that prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
Proclamation of 1763
This 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine convinced many colonists to support the independence from Britain
This document created the first centralized government of the United States
The Articles of Confederation
A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that advocated for a unicameral legislature where each state, regardless of population had equal representation.
A group of Americans who opposed the ratification of the US Constitution
Anti- Federalists
The first shots of the American Revolutionary War are fired at these two places
An agreement signed in 1783 that officially ended the American Revolutionary War
Treaty of Paris
First legislative assembly body in the American Colonies
House of Burgesses
A collection of 85 essays, written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, that explained and advocated for the adoption of the US Constitution.
Federalists Papers
A group of Americans who supported the passage of the US Constitution
Federalists