Dates Card Flashcards
(12 cards)
1607
Jamestown founded.
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North
America. Colonists struggled to survive because of starvation, disease,
and conflict with Algonquian Indians.
1619
House of Burgesses begins in Virginia (VA).
First African slaves arrive in VA.
House of Burgesses was the 1 st elective American governing body.
1620
Plymouth colony founded
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first democratic government to be
established in the English colonies. The colonists agrees to choose
their own leaders & make/obey their own laws.
1630
Massachusetts Bay colony founded by Puritans
John Winthrop led Puritans to settle in Massachusetts Bay to create a
colony that would be a “city on a hill” – a moral example for the whole world to follow.
1676
Bacon’s Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon led an unsuccessful rebellion against Virginia’s
colonial government. Highlighted conflict between landowners and
landless farmers. Led to codification of race-based slavery to prevent
further conflict of this kind.
1692
Salem Witchcraft Trials
In Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials were held in which 19 accused
citizens were executed. Shows the emphasis on “religious purity” in
New England, as well as the fear of losing religious influence over
people’s behavior.
1754
French & Indian War
begins War between Britain and France over Ohio Territory in America. First
opportunity for George Washington to display military leadership.
1763
French & Indian War ends
While Britain won, the French &; Indian War created conflict between Britain and the colonies for two reasons:
1) The war was costly, so Britain increased taxes on colonists to pay for the war
2) The British prevented colonists from moving west under the Proclamation of 1763, to appease Native Americans
1775
Battle of Lexington & Concord
Second Continental Congress
The Battle of Lexington & Concord was when the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired. After this battle, the Second Continental Congress was formed, and this legislative body governed the US through the duration of the Revolutionary War.
1776
Common Sense published
Declaration of Independence signed
Common Sense was a pamphlet published by Thomas Paine that rallied many ”neutral” colonists to support independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which officially began the Revolutionary War.
1781
British Surrender at Yorktown
Articles of Confederation
The Battle of Yorktown sealed American victory in the Revolutionary War. With the help of the French fleet, the Americans trapped the British, under Charles Cornwallis’s command, and forced their surrender. The Articles of Confederation was the US’s first attempt to create a national set of laws. They failed because state govts were given more power than the federal (national) govt.
1787
Constitutional Convention
Delegates from all 13 states convened in Philadelphia, PA in order to revise the Articles of Confederation. They ended up starting over and created the Constitution, giving the federal govt supreme power over
state gov