May 14, 1607: Jamestown, Virginia was founded, the first permanent English colony.
November 11, 1620: The pilgrims aboard the Mayflower ship signed an agreement, Mayflower Compact, that they will set up a government and obey its laws.
The 1760's: Unrest developed in the colonies because of new taxes by King George III
and the English Parliament as there was: taxation without representation.
December 16, 1773: In protest of a tax on tea, colonists disguised themselves as Native
Americans, boarded a British ship and dumped chests of tea in Boston's harbor, The Boston Tea Party.
July 4, 1776: The colonists declare their independence from England, The Declaration of Independence.
March 2, 1781: The Articles of Confederation, that grants most powers to the states, was signed by all 13 states; ie, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and
South Carolina, Georgia.
October 19, 1781: British General Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia.
September 11, 1786: The Annapolis, Maryland Convention not well attended and the Continental Congress is notified that another meeting should be held.
May 25, 1787: Re-writing the Articles of Confederation proves to be a difficult task and it is decided to write a new Constitution instead.
May 29, 1787: Edmund Randolph of Virginia suggests that the number of members
in Congress should be based on the population of each state.
June 15, 1787: William Paterson of New Jersey wants all states to have the same number of members of Congress.
July 16, 1787: Roger Sherman of Connecticut devises a plan that sets up two houses;
ie, (now named Congress & Senate), with one house based on population and the other house have two members for each state.
September 17, 1787: Thirty nine of the 55 delegates to the convention sign the new
Constitution. (4 Pages - 4543 Words).
April 30, 1789: George Washington is sworn in as the first President of the United States.
October 2, 1789: Bill of Rights sent to states for approval.
December 15, 1791: Virginia ratifies the first 10 Amendments. The Bill of Rights went into effect.
A study of the Constitution reveals the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in that this was to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people and that to ensure the foregoing a Separation of Powers and a Bill of Rights was mandatory.
Article I - The Legislative Branch (Congress):
Section I: Congress members ELECTED based on population.
Senators APPOINTED (changed to elected by XVII Amendment)
Powers: Make laws, collect taxes, borrow money, raise revenue, print and coin
money, provide and maintain the armed forces, DECLARE WAR.
Article II - Executive Branch (the President):
Powers: Oversees that laws are carried out, Commander-In-Chief of armed forces,
makes appointments, makes/signs treaties, signs or vetoes laws.
Article III - Judicial Branch (the Supreme Court and other national courts):
Powers: Explains/interprets meaning of laws but DOES NOT HAVE POWER TO MAKE
LAWS (that power is reserved for Congress), decides whether laws passed by
Congress are consistent with principles laid down by the Constitution.
