Patrick Henry Gives his ‘Give me Liberty, or Give me Death’ Speech
On March 23, 1775, less than a month before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Patrick Henry addressed the House of Burgesses in Richmond, Virginia. …
Fight for Freedom
The First Continental Congress Secretly Meets in Philadelphia to Discuss British Tyranny
On September 5, 1774, every colony but Georgia sent representatives to what is now called the First Continental Congress. They met in secret because they …
Two More ‘Intolerable Acts’ Passed: The Massachusetts Government Act & Administration Justice Act
The Massachusetts Government Act was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on May 20, 1774. The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony’s 1691 charter effectively …
1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery
Slavery is not simply a historical phenomenon.. It persists to this day in modern forms, such as trafficking. Quakers have opposed it from very early …
King Charles Delivers the ‘Answer to the Nineteen Propositions’ to Parliament
Two of Charles I advisers drafted and persuaded the king to issue a document, His Majesty’s Answer to the Nineteen Propositions of Both Houses of …
John Lilburne was Arrested for Printing and Circulating ‘Unlicensed Books’ Critical of the King Charles I’s Monarchy
On December 11, 1637, John Lilburne was arrested upon his return from Holland and put on secret trial by the Star Chamber of Charles I. …
The ‘Petition of Right’ Approved by King Charles I in England
The Petition of Right (see document) is a statement of the objectives of the 1628 English legal reform movement that led to the Civil War …
The Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge, fought on September 11, 1297, marked a turning point in the First War of Scottish Independence and solidified William Wallace’s …