1. Important Documents

2. Magna Carta
First document that limited the power of the King

3. English Bill of Rights
First set of rights given to all English men

4. Virginia House of Burgesses
First representative body to begin in America

5. Mayflower Compact
Social contract that allowed for the Plymouth colony to have self-government and majority rule

6. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
First Constitution in the United States

7. Common Sense
Writing by Thomas Paine that said it was common sense for all people to rebel against a government that is ruling harshly

8. Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 1776
Declared independence from England

9. Treaty of Paris Ended the Revolution
Extended land of America to Mississippi River

10. Constitution Supreme law of the land
Ruling document of America, still today

11. Federalist Papers
Papers written by James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton to defend the Constitution during the ratification process

12. Anti-Federalists Papers
Papers that were written to fight against the Constitution
Argued for the need of a Bill of Rights

13. Northwest Ordinance
Outlined what was needed for a territory to become a state:
60,000 total population
Total male population of minimum 5000 men who own 50 acres
Establish self-government

14. Washington’s Farewell Address
Warned citizens against political parties and to stay neutral with foreign powers

15. Treaty of Ghent
Treaty that ended the War of 1812 that returned everything to the way it was before the war began

16. Monroe Doctrine
All European countries must stay out of Central and South America/Latin America/Western Hemisphere

17. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Ends Mexican-American War
Grants US the Mexican Cession for $15 million-including territory in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and California

18. Lincoln/Davis Inaugural Address
1st Address: Abolish slavery, preserve the Union and illegal to secede
2nd Address: Slavery was the cause of the war, restore the Union, government will be preserved
Davis:
Right of the South to secede to preserve what they want

19. Emancipation Proclamation
Following the Battle of Antietam, freed the slaves in all of the rebelling states

20. Gettysburg Address Lincoln speech following the Battle of Gettysburg
Commemorated the battlefield as a memorial for all of the soldiers that died

21. Homestead/Dawes/Morril act
Homestead Act: Government grants people 160 acres if they live on the land for 5 years and pay taxes
Dawes Act: Government allowed to break up reservation land to individual members of the tribes
Morril Act: Western states establish colleges for the citizens, with schools including Texas A&M, Nebraska and Clemson