Constitution Timeline

The Royal Colonies led to the settlement of the 13 original colonies. The Royal Colonies, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia were split up into separate colony names; New England, Middle and Southern Colonies.

Charles I believed in divine right, while his population disagreed. The disagreement led to the creation, Petition of Rights. The Petition of Right is a major English constitutional document that stated a set of specific liberties that King Charles I is prohibited from disobeying.

Proprietary Colonies were territories granted to the king who gave individual proprietors land to own. There were three proprietary colonies: Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to place the British colonies under a more centralized government. On July 10, 1754 seven representatives from the colonies adopted the plan. It was never carried out but the Albany Plan served as a model for future attempts at union.

The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first tax directed on American colonists by the British government. The act was imposed when the British was in debt from the Seven Years' War. The act put tax on all paper documents.

The First Continental Congress was created in response to Intolerable Acts. On September 5, 1774, delegates from each of the 13 colonies, except Georgia, met at Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress where they concluded a set of solutions for the right to life liberty, property and the right to tax and make laws.

The Second Continental Congress was a continuation of the First Continental Congress, the same delegates were present. On July 4, 1776 the Second Continental Congress declared independence on Great Britain by signing the Declaration of Independence.

Th Declaration of Independence was signed by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1774. The declaration stated specific ideals that the colonists believed it was important to have, like equality. The Declaration of Independence became a significant landmark in the history of democracy.

On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which was the first constitution of the United States. The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government leaving power to the states government. The need for a strong federal government led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

The 3/5 Compromise was a result of taxes being related to land values. The creation of the 3/5 Compromise increased the representation and political power of slave-owning states. Even though the South had an advantage, the Northern states' population grew faster.