| A | B |
|---|
| Magna Carta | In 1215, granted privileges and rights to the subjects of King John at Runnymede Meadow beside the Thames River. Limited the power of the King of England |
| English Bill of Rights | Protected individual rights for the first time. |
| Declaration of Independence | Adopted July 4, 1776 by the Second Continental Congress. Declared independence from Britan. |
| Articles of Confederation | The first government of the United States. Was very weak - had no authority over the separate states. |
| U.S. Constitution | Replaced the Articles of Confederation with a strong national government. Had three branches which are limited through checks and balances. The longest-lived national constitution in the world. |
| Bill of Rights | First ten amendments; guarantees American citizens their unalienable rights. |
| Monroe Doctrine | A statement of U.S. foreign policy that prohibits foreign intervention in the Western Hemisphere; established the U.S. as a world power. |
| Emancipation Proclamation | Issued in 1862 by Lincoln. Ordered the freeing of all slaves in certain designated areas of the confederate states. |
| Gulf of Tonkin Resolution | Written at the beginning of the Vietnam War; gave the president power to send troops into action without declaring war. |
