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Colonial
Settlement to 1750
1750 -
Passage To America, 1750
Gottleb Mittelberger was an organ master and schoolmaster who left one of the small German states in May 1750 to make his way to America. He arrived at the port of Philadelphia on October 10. He represents the thousands of Germans who settled in middle Pennsylvania during this period. He returned to his homeland in 1754. His diary was published in this country in 1898.
1750 - An Original Theory and New Hypothesis of
the Universe by Thomas Wright explains the Milky Way as a collection of
stars confined between two parallel planes and proposes that the Sun and stars
form a giant system rotating around a common center.
1750 - Benjamin
Doolittle : A Short Narrative of Mischief Done by the French and
Indian Enemy. Published posthumously, this brief pamphlet outlines in great
detail the happenings in and around Northfield, Deerfield, and Fort
Massachusetts from 1744 to 1749. Written in journal form, the work provides a
firsthand look at these New England frontier sites during King George's War.
1750 - Christopher
Dock (c. 1698-1771): School Management. The noted educator,
called the "Father of American Pedagogy," finishes this book,
detailing his philosophy of education. A unique section discusses how parents
can be involved in their children's learning. Dock insists, however, that the
work not be published in his lifetime, and it would not be printed until 1770,
shortly before his death.
1750 - Charlotte
Ramsay Lennox (1720-1804): The Life of Harriet Stuart. Lennox,
born in New York and sent to England at the age of fifteen for schooling,
remains there for the rest of her life and gets credit for publishing the
first novel written by an American-born writer . It is also the
first novel with American settings , such as the Hudson River, Albany,
and the Mohawk Valley.
1751 - The Currency Act is passed
by the English Parliament, banning the issuing of paper money by the New England
colonies.
1751 - The
first sugar cane is grown in America, introduced into Louisiana by Catholic
missionaries from San Domingo. It is used to make rum.
1751 - March 31 - The future King George III of the United Kingdom succeeds his father as Prince of Wales. His mother Augusta of Saxe-Gotha becomes Dowager Princess of Wales.
1751 - The Academy and College of Philadelphia, the predecessor to the private University of Pennsylvania, is founded.
1751 - March 16 - James Madison, 4th President of the United States
is born (d. 1836)
February 25 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, New York City (admission 1cent)
1752: Lightning Rod Benjamin Franklin's
electricity experiments lead him to a valuable application -- the lightning rod,
which when placed at the apex of a barn, church steeple, or other structure,
conducts lightning bolts harmlessly into the ground.
1752 -
The first general hospital is founded in Philadelphia, offering medical
care to people who are ill--except for those with an incurable or infectious
disease.
1752
- Franklin, Benjamin: Poor Richard Improved
1753 -
Benjamin Franklin and William Hunter are appointed as postmasters general for
the American colonies.
1753 - John Schulyer brings the first steam engine in America to his New Jersey copper mine and uses it to pump water from the mine.
1753
- Franklin, Benjamin: Poor Richard Improved
1753
- Franklin, Benjamin: Poor Richard Improved
Albany
Plan for a Union, 1754 see also: 1754
- The Albany Plan for a Union
1754 - The French and Indian War erupts as a result of disputes over land in the Ohio
River Valley. In May, George Washington leads a small group of American
colonists to victory over the French, then builds Fort Necessity in the Ohio
territory. In July, after being attacked by numerically superior French forces,
Washington surrenders the fort and retreats.
The
French and Indian War (1754-1763) This easy-to-read, illustrated
article describes the struggle between France and England over territory in
North America. Find out what part a young George Washington played in this war.
Also includes a timeline of the war. This article fills in the gap between
colonial development and revolutionary war.
1754 - Benjamin Bannecker, an African American, makes the first clock built entirely in America.
Coming
of the Revolution, 1754-1775
1755 -
In February, English General Edward Braddock arrives in Virginia with two
regiments of English troops. Gen. Braddock assumes the post of commander in
chief of all English forces in America. In April, Gen. Braddock and Lt. Col.
George Washington set out with nearly 2000 men to battle the French in the Ohio
territory. In July, a force of about 900 French and Indians defeat those English
forces. Braddock is mortally wounded. Twenty-three year-old George Washington assumes command of the retreating army of British and colonial troops.
Massachusetts Governor William Shirley
then becomes the new commander in chief.
1755:
The French and Indian War Homepage
1756 -
England declares war on France, as the French and Indian War in the colonies now
spreads to Europe.
1756 - The French under General Montcalm capture and destroy British colonial Fort Oswego in New York.
1757 -
In June, William Pitt becomes England's Secretary of State and escalates the
French and Indian War in the colonies by establishing a policy of unlimited
warfare. In July, Benjamin Franklin begins a five year stay in London.
1757 - Whale oil street lamps, designed by Benjamin Franklin, are installed on a few streets in Philadelphia.
1758 - In
July, a devastating defeat occurs for English forces at Lake George, New York,
as nearly two thousand men are lost during a frontal attack against well
entrenched French forces at Fort Ticonderoga . French losses are 377. In
November, the French abandon Fort Duquesne in the Ohio territory. Settlers then
rush into the territory to establish homes.
1758 - The first Indian
reservation in America is founded, in New Jersey, on 3000 acres.
1758 - British troops drive the French from Fort Duquesne,
which they rename Pittsburgh .
1758 - Samuel Davies The Curse of Cowardice
1759 -
French Fort Niagara is captured by the English. Also in 1759, war erupts between
Cherokee Indians and southern colonists.
1759
- Franklin, Benjamin: Poor Richard Improved
1760 -
The population of colonists in America reaches 1,500,000. In March, much of
Boston is destroyed by a raging fire. In September, Quebec surrenders to the
English. In October,
George
III becomes the new English King.
1760 - Benjamin Franklin invents the first bifocal lenses for eye glasses.
1761
- James Otis. Against the Writs of Assistance: Massachusetts lawyer James Otis opposes the Writs of Assistance, general search warrants that allowed British customs men to invade the homes and warehouses of the American colonists to search for smuggled goods.
Governor
Glen, The Role of the Indians in the Rivalry Between France, Spain, and England,
1761 see also: 1761
- Governor Glen, The Role of the Indians in the Rivalry Between France, Spain,
and England
1762 -
England declares war on Spain, which had been planning to ally itself with
France and Austria. The British then successfully attack Spanish outposts in the
West Indies and Cuba.
1762 - Ethan Allen establishes an ironworks and blast furnace in Salisbury, Connecticut. This ironworks will produce many of the cannons used by the American colonists during the Revolutionary War.
1763 -
The French and Indian War, known in Europe as the Seven Year's War, ends with
the Treaty of Paris. Under the treaty, France gives England all French territory
east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and
west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.
Peace
Treaty of Paris, 1763
1763 - In May, the Ottawa Native Americans
under Chief Pontiac begin all-out warfare against the British west of Niagara,
destroying several British forts and conducting a siege against the British at
Detroit. In August, Pontiac's forces are defeated by the British near
Pittsburgh. The siege of Detroit ends in November, but hostilities between the
British and Chief Pontiac continue for several years.
1763 - The Proclamation of 1763, signed by
King George III of England, prohibits any English settlement west of the
Appalachian mountains and requires those already settled in those regions to
return east in an attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans.
Samuel
Adams: Ringleader of the American Revolution Described as a
firebrand, a revolutionary, and a patriot, the young Adams was perhaps the most
vocal of his generation to demand independence from Great Britain. He believed
in the higher cause of independence, and he didn't often let laws that he
thought unjust stand in his way. When the British government announced in 1763 that it would begin to tax America's trade, the response was swift and defiant,
with a statement written by Samuel Adams. It said, in part, "If our
trade may be taxed, why not our lands? Why not the produce of our lands, and
every thing we possess, or use? This we conceive annihilates our charter rights
to govern and tax ourselves."
1763 - First Jewish synagogue dedicated on December 7 in Newport, Rhode Island
1764 -
The Sugar Act is passed by the English Parliament to offset the war debt
brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of
running the colonies and newly acquired territories. This act increases the
duties on imported sugar and other items such as textiles, coffee, wines and
indigo (dye). It doubles the duties on foreign goods reshipped from England to
the colonies and also forbids the import of foreign rum and French wines.
Sugar
Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765) Two of the major events commonly
regarded as preludes to the American Revolution were the enactment of the Sugar
Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), designed to increase British tax revenues.
In the American colonies these Acts were not only dealt with in terms of
economic disadvantage but increasingly in terms of right, the focal point being
the question whether Parliament had the right to tax the colonies.
1764 - The English Parliament passes a
measure to reorganize the American customs system to better enforce British
trade laws, which have often been ignored in the past. A court is established in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, that will have jurisdiction over all of the American
colonies in trade matters.
1764 - The Currency Act prohibits
the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money. This act threatens to
destabilize the entire colonial economy of both the industrial North and
agricultural South, thus uniting the colonists against it. Currency
Act (1764)
1764 - In May, at a town meeting in
Boston, James Otis raises the issue of taxation without representation and urges
a united response to the recent acts imposed by England. In July, Otis publishes
"The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved." In August,
Boston merchants begin a boycott of British luxury goods.
Patrick
Henry: Voice of Freedom Patrick Henry was one of the leading
lights of the American Revolution, a voice that would not be silenced until
Americans were free and could govern themselves. Henry was elected to the
Virginia House of Burgesses, one of the colonies' first representative
governments, in 1764 .
The
American Revolutionary War: Keeping Independence
(1764-1783)
The American Revolutionary War was a long time coming.
Follow it from beginning to end in this easy-to-read, detailed article. Includes
a list of Causes of the War.
1764 - The oldest continuously published newspaper in America, The Connecticut Courant, begins publishing as a weekly newspaper in Hartford, Connecticut.
1765 -
In March, the Stamp Act is passed by the English Parliament imposing the
first direct tax on the American colonies , to offset the high costs of the
British military organization in America. Thus for the first time in the 150
year old history of the British colonies in America, the Americans will pay tax
not to their own local legislatures in America, but directly to England. Under
the Stamp Act, all printed materials are taxed, including; newspapers,
pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards.
The American colonists quickly unite in opposition, led by the most influential
segments of colonial society - lawyers, publishers, land owners, ship builders
and merchants - who are most affected by the Act, which is scheduled to go into
effect on November 1.
1765 - Also in March, the Quartering
Act requires colonists to house British troops and supply them with food.
Quartering
Act--1765
1765 - In May, in Virginia, Patrick Henry
presents seven Virginia Resolutions to the House of Burgesses claiming that only
the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents, saying, "If
this be treason, make the most of it. " Also in May, the first
medical school in America is founded, in Philadelphia.
1765 - In July, the Sons of Liberty, an
underground organization opposed to the Stamp Act, is formed in a number of
colonial towns. Its members use violence and intimidation to eventually force
all of the British stamp agents to resign and also stop many American merchants
from ordering British trade goods.
1765 - August 26, a mob in Boston attacks
the home of Thomas Hutchinson, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, as Hutchinson and
his family narrowly escape.
1765 - In October, the Stamp Act
Congress convenes in New York City, with representatives from nine of the
colonies. The Congress prepares a
resolution
to be sent to King George III and the English Parliament. The petition requests
the repeal of the Stamp Act and the Acts of 1764. The petition asserts that only
colonial legislatures can tax colonial residents and that taxation without
representation violates the colonists' basic civil rights.
The
Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress, October 19, 1765
Daniel
Dulany, Considerations, October 1765
Soame
Jenyns, The Objections to the taxation consider'd, 1765
1765 - On November 1, most daily business
and legal transactions in the colonies cease as the Stamp Act goes into effect
with nearly all of the colonists refusing to use the stamps. In New York City,
violence breaks out as a mob burns the royal governor in effigy, harasses
British troops, then loots houses.
1765 - In December, British General Thomas
Gage, commander of all English military forces in America, asks the New York
assembly to make colonists comply with the Quartering Act and house and supply
his troops. Also in December, the American boycott of English imports spreads,
as over 200 Boston merchants join the movement.
1765 - James Watt, a 29-year old Scotsman, designs a steam engine that produces power much more efficiently than the Newcomen engine of 1712. This invention will have a major impact on the Industrial Revolution.
William
Pitt's speech on the Stamp Act, January 14 1766
1766 -
In January, the New York assembly refuses to completely comply with Gen. Gage's
request to enforce the Quartering Act.
1766 - In March, King George III signs a
bill repealing the Stamp Act after much debate in the English Parliament, which
included an appearance by Ben Franklin arguing for repeal and warning of a
possible revolution in the American colonies if the Stamp Act was enforced by
the British military.
1766
- An Act Repealing the Stamp Act; March 18, 1766
1766 - On the same day it repealed the
Stamp Act, the English Parliament passes the Declaratory Act stating that
the British government has total power to legislate any laws governing the
American colonies in all cases whatsoever.
1766 - In April, news of the repeal of the
Stamp Act results in celebrations in the colonies and a relaxation of the
boycott of imported English trade goods.
1766 - In August, violence breaks out in
New York between British soldiers and armed colonists, including Sons of Liberty
members. The violence erupts as a result of the continuing refusal of New York
colonists to comply with the Quartering Act. In December, the New York
legislature is suspended by the English Crown after once again voting to refuse
to comply with the Act.
1766 - Freedmen's Bureau is established to aid freed African Americans.
1767 -
In June, The English Parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Acts ,
imposing a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of
administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports
such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The Act also establishes a colonial
board of customs commissioners in Boston. In October, Bostonians decide to
reinstate a boycott of English luxury items.
1767 - David Rittenhouse, a Philadelphia clockmaker, builds the first planetarium in America. Two years later, he plots the orbits of Venus and Mercury.
John
Dickenson's Letter 2, from Letters from a Farmer, 1767-1768
John
Dickenson's Letter 4, from Letters from a Farmer, 1767-1768
1768 - British troops sail to Boston, and two regiments come ashore to take up quarters in the city.
1768 -
In February, Samuel Adams of Massachusetts writes a Circular Letter opposing
taxation without representation and calling for the colonists to unite in
their actions against the British government. The letter is sent to assemblies
throughout the colonies and also instructs them on the methods the Massachusetts
general court is using to oppose the Townshend Acts.
1768
- Circular Letter to the Governors in America; April 21, 1768
1768 - In April, England's Secretary of
State for the Colonies, Lord Hillsborough, orders colonial governors to stop
their own assemblies from endorsing Adams' circular letter. Hillsborough also
orders the governor of Massachusetts to dissolve the general court if the
Massachusetts assembly does not revoke the letter. By month's end, the
assemblies of New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey have endorsed the
letter.
1768 - In May, a British warship armed
with 50 cannons sails into Boston harbor after a call for help from custom
commissioners who are constantly being harassed by Boston agitators. In June, a
customs official is locked up in the cabin of the Liberty, a sloop owned by John
Hancock. Imported wine is then unloaded illegally into Boston without payment of
duties. Following this incident, customs officials seize Hancock's sloop. After
threats of violence from Bostonians, the customs officials escape to an island
off Boston, then request the intervention of British troops.
1768 - In July, the governor of
Massachusetts dissolves the general court after the legislature defies his order
to revoke Adams' circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants
agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are
repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm
themselves. Later in September, English warships sail into Boston Harbor, then
two regiments of English infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence
to keep order.
1768 - A newspaper, the Boston Gazette, publishes
"The Liberty Song ," possibly America's first patriotic song.
1768
- Boston Non-Importation Agreement, August 1, 1768
1769 -
In March, merchants in Philadelphia join the boycott of British trade goods. In
May, a set of resolutions written by George Mason is presented by George
Washington to the Virginia House of Burgesses. The Virginia Resolves oppose
taxation without representation, the British opposition to the circular letters,
and British plans to possibly send American agitators to England for trial. Ten
days later, the Royal governor of Virginia dissolves the House of Burgesses.
However, its members meet the next day in a Williamsburg tavern and agree to a
boycott of British trade goods, luxury items and slaves.
1769 - In July, in the territory of
California, San Diego is founded by Franciscan Friar Juniper Serra. In
October, the boycott of English goods spreads to New Jersey, Rhode Island, and
then North Carolina.
1769 - Daniel Boone--ignoring the Proclamation of 1763 prohibiting settlers from crossing over the Appalachian mountains--leads an expedition to the Kentucky region and explores Cumberland Gap.
1769 - Henry William Stiegel opens his famous American glassmaking works in Manheim, Pennsylvania.
1769
- Charleston Non-Importation Agreement; July 22, 1769
Gottlieb
Mittelberger, On the Misfortune of Indentured Servants
Benjamin
Franklin, How I Became a Printer in Philadelphia
1770 -
The population of the American colonies reaches 2,210,000 persons.
1770 - Violence erupts in January between
members of the Sons of Liberty in New York and 40 British soldiers over the
posting of broadsheets by the British. Several men are seriously wounded.
March 5, 1770 - The
Boston
Massacre occurs as a mob harasses British soldiers who then fire their
muskets pointblank into the crowd, killing three instantly, mortally wounding
two others and injuring six. Crispus Attucks, an African American, is the first to die when British soldiers fire.
After the incident, the new Royal Governor of
Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, at the insistence of Sam Adams, withdraws
British troops out of Boston to nearby harbor islands. The captain of the
British soldiers, Thomas Preston, is then arrested along with eight of his men
and charged with murder.
Anonymous
Account of the Boston Massacre A Short Narrative of the Horrid
Massacre in Boston. Printed by Order of the Town of Boston. The horrid
massacre in Boston, perpetrated in the evening of the fifth day of March, 1770,
by soldiers of the twenty-ninth regiment which with the fourteenth regiment were
then quartered there; with some observations on the state of things prior to
that catastrophe. See also: Anonymous
account of the Boston Massacre, March 5 1770
Captain
Preston's account of the Boston Massacre, March 5 1770 See also:
Captain
Thomas Preston's account of the Boston Massacre, 13 March 1770
1770 - In April, the Townshend Acts are
repealed by the British. All duties on imports into the colonies are
eliminated except for tea. Also, the Quartering Act is not renewed .
1770 - In October, trial begins for the
British soldiers arrested after the Boston Massacre. Colonial lawyers John Adams
and Josiah Quincy successfully defend Captain Preston and six of his men, who
are acquitted. Two other soldiers are found guilty of manslaughter, branded,
then released.
1771 A relatively quiet year. Phyllis Wheatly is the first African American woman to have her poems published.
1772 -
In June, a British customs schooner, the Gaspee , runs aground off Rhode Island
in Narragansett Bay. Colonists from Providence row out to the schooner and
attack it, set the British crew ashore, then burn the ship. In September, a 500
pound reward is offered by the English Crown for the capture of those colonists,
who would then be sent to England for trial. The announcement that they would be
sent to England further upsets many American colonists.
1772 - In November, a Boston town meeting
assembles, called by Sam Adams. During the meeting, a 21 member committee of
correspondence is appointed to communicate with other towns and colonies. A few
weeks later, the town meeting endorses three radical proclamations asserting
the rights of the colonies to self-rule .
1773 -
In March, the Virginia House of Burgesses appoints an eleven member committee of
correspondence to communicate with the other colonies regarding common
complaints against the British. Members of that committee include, Thomas
Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee. Virginia is followed a few
months later by New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and South Carolina.
1773 - May 10, the Tea Act takes
effect. It maintains a three penny per pound import tax on tea arriving in the
colonies, which had already been in effect for six years. It also gives the near
bankrupt British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by allowing it to
sell directly to colonial agents, bypassing any middlemen, thus underselling
American merchants. The East India Company had successfully lobbied Parliament
for such a measure. In September, Parliament authorizes the company to ship half
a million pounds of tea to a group of chosen tea agents.
1773 - In October, colonists hold a mass
meeting in Philadelphia in opposition to the tea tax and the monopoly of the
East India Company. A committee then forces British tea agents to resign their
positions. In November, a town meeting is held in Boston endorsing the actions
taken by Philadelphia colonists. Bostonians then try, but fail, to get their
British tea agents to resign. A few weeks later, three ships bearing tea sail
into Boston harbor.
1773 - November 29/30, two mass meetings
occur in Boston over what to do about the tea aboard the three ships now docked
in Boston harbor. Colonists decide to send the tea on the ship, Dartmouth, back
to England without paying any import duties. The Royal Governor of
Massachusetts, Hutchinson, is opposed to this and orders harbor officials not to
let the ship sail out of the harbor unless the tea taxes have been paid.
December 16, 1773 - About 8000 Bostonians gather to hear Sam Adams tell them Royal Governor
Hutchinson has repeated his command not to allow the ships out of the harbor
until the tea taxes are paid. That night, the
Boston
Tea Party occurs as colonial activists disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians
then board the ships and dump all 342 containers of tea into the harbor.
1773
- Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York; December 15, 1773
1773
- The Association of the Virginia Convention; August 1-6, 1773
1774 -
In March, an angry English Parliament passes the first of a series of Coercive
Acts (called Intolerable Acts by Americans) in response to the
rebellion in Massachusetts. The Boston Port Bill effectively shuts down
all commercial shipping in Boston harbor until Massachusetts pays the taxes owed
on the tea dumped in the harbor and also reimburses the East India Company for
the loss of the tea.
1774
5 March - John Hancock, Boston Massacre Oration, March 5
1774
- The Boston Port Act, London : March 31
1774 - May 12, Bostonians at a town
meeting call for a boycott of British imports in response to the Boston Port
Bill. May 13, General Thomas Gage, commander of all British military forces in
the colonies, arrives in Boston and replaces Hutchinson as Royal governor,
putting Massachusetts under military rule. He is followed by the arrival of four
regiments of British troops.
1774
- Circular Letter of the Boston Committee of Correspondence; May 13
1774 - May 17-23, colonists in Providence,
New York and Philadelphia begin calling for an intercolonial congress to
overcome the Coercive Acts and discuss a common course of action against the
British.
1774 - May 20, The English Parliament
enacts the next series of Coercive Acts, which include the Massachusetts
Regulating Act and the Government Act virtually ending any self-rule
by the colonists there. Instead, the English Crown and the Royal governor assume
political power formerly exercised by colonists. Also enacted; the
Administration of Justice Act which protects royal officials in
Massachusetts from being sued in colonial courts, and the Quebec Act establishing a centralized government in Canada controlled by the Crown and
English Parliament. The Quebec Act greatly upsets American colonists by
extending the southern boundary of Canada into territories claimed by
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia.
1774 - In June, a new version of the 1765 Quartering
Act is enacted by the English Parliament requiring all of the American
colonies to provide housing for British troops in occupied houses and taverns
and in unoccupied buildings. In September, Massachusetts Governor Gage seizes
that colony's arsenal of weapons at Charlestown.
1774 - September 5 to October 26, the First
Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia with 56 delegates,
representing every colony, except Georgia. Attendants include Patrick Henry,
George Washington, Sam Adams and John Hancock. On September 17, the Congress
declares its opposition to the Coercive Acts, saying they are "not to be
obeyed," and also promotes the formation of local militia units. On October
14, a
Declaration
and Resolves is adopted that opposes the Coercive Acts, the Quebec Act, and
other measure taken by the British that undermine self-rule. The rights of the
colonists are asserted, including the rights to "life, liberty and
property." On October 20, the Congress adopts the Continental Association
in which delegates agree to a boycott of English imports, effect an embargo of
exports to Britain, and discontinue the slave trade.
Declaration
and Resolves of the First Continental Congress October 1774
1774
- The Articles of Association; October 20
1774
- James Wilson, Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative
Authority of the British Parliament
1774-1789
- Avalon. Collection of Documents from the Journal of the Continental
Congress
1774 - "The Minutemen" colonial
militia are formed
The
Charlotte Town Resolves, 1775
Daniel
Leonard's letter of January 9, 1775
John
Adams, Novanglus, February 6, 1775
1775 - February 1, in Cambridge, Mass., a
provincial congress is held during which John Hancock and Joseph Warren begin
defensive preparations for a state of war. February 9, the English Parliament
declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. March 23, in Virginia,
Patrick Henry delivers a
speech
against British rule, stating, "Give me liberty or give me death! "
March 30, the New England Restraining Act is endorsed by King George III,
requiring New England colonies to trade exclusively with England and also bans
fishing in the North Atlantic.
Edmund
Burke speech on conciliation with America, March 22, 1775
1775
- Patrick Henry - Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, March 23 see also: 1775
- Patrick Henry: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
April 14, 1775 - Massachusetts Governor
Gage is secretly ordered by the British to enforce the Coercive Acts and
suppress "open rebellion" among colonists by using all necessary
force.
April 18, 1775 - General Gage orders 700
British soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonists' weapons depot. That night,
Paul Revere and William Dawes are sent from Boston to warn colonists. Revere
reaches Lexington about midnight and warns Sam Adams and John Hancock who are
hiding out there.
The
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere On the evening of April 18, 1775 ,
Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren and instructed to ride to
Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British
troops were marching to arrest them.
April 19, 1775 - At dawn, about 70 armed
Massachusetts militiamen stand face to face on Lexington Green with the British
advance guard. An unordered 'shot heard around the world ' begins the
American Revolution. A volley of British rifle fire followed by a charge with
bayonets leaves eight Americans dead and ten wounded. The British regroup and
head for the depot in Concord, destroying the colonists' weapons and supplies.
At the North Bridge in Concord, a British platoon is attacked by militiamen,
with 14 casualties. British forces then begin a long retreat from Lexington back
to Boston and are harassed and shot at all along the way by farmers and rebels
and suffer over 250 casualties. News of the events at Lexington and Concord
spreads like wildfire throughout the Colonies.
The
Battle of Concord, By
Marike Blauw April 1775 see also:
Battle
of Lexington and Concord
April 23, 1775 - The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be
mobilized. Colonial volunteers from all over New England assemble and head for
Boston, then establish camps around the city and begin a year long siege of
British-held Boston.
May 10, 1775 - American forces led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort
Ticonderoga in New York. The fort contains a much needed supply of military
equipment including cannons which are then hauled to Boston by ox teams. The Second
Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, with John Hancock elected as its
president. On May 15, the Congress places the colonies in a state of defense. On
June 15, the Congress unanimously votes to appoint George Washington general and
commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.
June 17, 1775 - The first major fight between British and American troops occurs at Boston in the
Battle of Bunker Hill . American troops are dug in along the high ground of Breed's
Hill (the actual location) and are attacked by a frontal assault of over
2000 British soldiers who storm up the hill. The Americans are ordered not to
fire until they can see "the whites of their eyes." As the British get
within 15 paces, the Americans let loose a deadly volley of rifle fire and halt
the British advance. The British then regroup and attack 30 minutes later with
the same result. A third attack, however, succeeds as the Americans run out of
ammunition and are left only with bayonets and stones to defend themselves. The
British succeed in taking the hill, but at a loss of half their force, over a
thousand casualties, with the Americans losing about 400, including important
colonial leader, General Joseph Warren.
The
Courage of William Prescott June 1775 At the Battle of Bunker
Hill, American Colonel William Prescott told his men, "Don't fire until you
see the whites of their eyes." Find out more about this courageous man.
1775
- Articles of War, June 30
July 3, 1775 - At Cambridge, Massachusetts, George Washington takes command of the
Continental Army which now has about 17,000 men
July 5, 1775 - The Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition which expresses hope
for a reconciliation with Britain, appealing directly to the King for help in
achieving this. In August, King George III refuses even to look at the petition
and instead issues a
proclamation
declaring the Americans to be in a state of open rebellion.
July 6, 1775 - The Continental Congress
issues a
Declaration
on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms detailing the colonists' reasons
for fighting the British and states the Americans are "resolved to die free
men rather than live as slaves."
Second
Continental Congress, Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms,
July 6 1775 see also:
Declaration
of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
1775
- John Dickinson, "The Declaration on Taking up Arms," July 8
1775
- Franklin's Articles of Confederation; July 21
July 26, 1775 - An American Post Office is established with Ben Franklin as Postmaster
General.
1775
- King George of England, Proclamation of Rebellion, 23 August [Douglass]
1775 From
War to Self-Determination : A history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. One of the first acts of the Continental Congress was the creation, in 1775, of
three departments of Indian affairs; northern, central, and southern. Among the
first departmental commissioners were Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry. Their
job was to negotiate treaties with tribes and obtain tribal neutrality in the
coming Revolutionary War. Fourteen years later, the U. S. Congress established a
War Department and made Indian relations a part of its responsibilities.
November 28, 1775 - The American Navy is established by Congress. The next day, Congress
appoints a secret committee to seek help from European nations.
December 23, 1775 - King George III issues
a royal proclamation closing the American colonies to all commerce and trade, to
take effect in March of 1776. Also in December, Congress is informed that France
may offer support in the war against Britain.
1775 - Anthony Benezet of Philiadelphia organizes the
world's first abolitionist society , a group opposed to the enslavement of African Americans.
1776: Submarine David Bushnell's
"Turtle" submerges by taking water into its tanks and reverses the
process to rise. It moves by means of a hand crank propeller. The
"Turtle" is used in an attack on Lord Howe's Flagship
"Eagle," but attempts to attach a mine to the Eagle's hull fail.
Yankee
Doodle
George
Washington On recruiting and maintaining an army, 1776 (Letter to John
Hancock)
January 5, 1776 - The assembly of New Hampshire adopts the first American state constitution.
1776
- Constitution of New Hampshire January 5
January 9, 1776 - Thomas Paine's
"Common
Sense" is published in Philadelphia. The 50 page pamphlet is highly
critical of King George III and attacks allegiance to Monarchy in principle
while providing strong arguments for American independence. It becomes an
instant best-seller in America. "We have it in our power to begin the world
anew...American shall make a stand, not for herself alone, but for the
world," Paine states.
Thomas
Paine, Common Sense 1776
Charles
Inglis, The True Interest of America Impartially Stated, 1776
The
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776 see also:
The
Virginia Declaration of Rights
March 4-17, 1776 - American forces capture Dorchester Heights which overlooks Boston harbor.
Captured British artillery from Fort Ticonderoga is placed on the heights to
enforce the siege against the British in Boston. The British evacuate Boston and
set sail for Halifax. George Washington then rushes to New York to set up
defenses, anticipating the British plan to invade New York City.
April 6, 1776 - The Continental Congress declares colonial shipping ports open to all traffic
except the British. The Congress had already authorized privateer raids on
British ships and also advised disarming all Americans loyal to England.
April 12, 1776 - The North Carolina
assembly is the first to empower its delegates in the Continental Congress to
vote for independence from Britain.
May 2, 1776 - The American revolutionaries
get the much needed foreign support they had been hoping for. King Louis XVI of
France commits one million dollars in arms and munitions. Spain then also
promises support.
May 10, 1776 - The Continental Congress
authorizes each of the 13 colonies to form local (provincial) governments.
1776
- Resolution of Richard Henry Lee in the Continental Congress; June 7
Draft
Constitution for Virginia; June 1776
June 28, 1776 - In South Carolina, American forces at Fort Moultrie successfully defend
Charleston against a British naval attack and inflict heavy damage on the fleet.
June-July, 1776 - A massive British
war fleet arrives in New York Harbor consisting of 30 battleships with 1200
cannon, 30,000 soldiers, 10,000 sailors, and 300 supply ships, under the command
of General William Howe and his brother Admiral Lord Richard Howe.
June-July, 1776 - On June 7,
Richard
Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, presents a
formal resolution calling for America to declare its independence from Britain.
Congress decides to postpone its decision on this until July. On June 11,
Congress appoints a committee to draft a declaration of independence. Committee
members are
Thomas
Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin,
John
Adams, Roger Livingston and Roger Sherman. Jefferson is chosen by the
committee to prepare the
first
draft of the declaration, which he completes in one day. Just seventeen days
later, June 28, Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is ready and is
presented to the Congress, with changes made by Adams and Franklin. On July 2,
twelve of thirteen colonial delegations (New York abstains) vote in support of
Lee's resolution for independence. On July 4, the Congress formally endorses
Jefferson's Declaration, with copies to be sent to all of the colonies. The
actual signing of the document occurs on August 2, as most of the 55 members of
Congress place their names on the parchment copy.
1776
- Constitution of New Jersey July 2
Jefferson's
draft of the Declaration of Independence
The
Final Text of the Declaration of Independence, July 4 1776 see also:
The
Declaration of Independence and:
1776
- Declaration of Independence July 4 and
July
4, 1776 - United States Declaration of Independence
1776
- Samuel Cooper, A Sermon on the Day of the Commencement of the Constitution
July 12, 1776 - As a show of force, two
British frigates sail up the Hudson River blasting their guns. Peace feelers are
then extended to the Americans. At the request of the British, Gen. Washington
meets with Howe's representatives in New York and listens to vague offers of
clemency for the American rebels. Washington politely declines, then leaves.
Journal
of the Continental Congress. Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union; July
12
Jefferson's
notes on Slavery
Adam Smith, From The Wealth of Nations,
1776
1776
- Adams, Samuel, American Independence, August 1
August 27-29, 1776 - Gen. Howe leads 15,000 soldiers against Washington's army in the Battle of
Long Island . Washington, outnumbered two to one, suffers a severe defeat as
his army is outflanked and scatters. The Americans retreat to Brooklyn Heights,
facing possible capture by the British or even total surrender. But at night,
the Americans cross the East River in small boats and escape to Manhattan, then
evacuate New York City and retreat up through Manhattan Island to Harlem
Heights. Washington now changes tactics, avoiding large scale battles with the
British by a series of retreats.
1776
- Constitution of Delaware September 10
September 11, 1776 - A peace conference is held on Staten Island with British Admiral, Lord Richard
Howe, meeting American representatives including John Adams and Benjamin
Franklin. The conference fails as Howe demands the colonists revoke the
Declaration of Independence.
September 16, 1776 - After evacuating New
York City, Washington's army repulses a British attack during the Battle of
Harlem Heights in upper Manhattan. Several days later, fire engulfs New York
City and destroys over 300 buildings.
September 22, 1776 - After he is caught
spying on British troops on Long Island, Nathan Hale is executed without
a trial, his last words, "I only regret that I have but one life
to lose for my country. "
1776
- Letter of George Washington to John Hancock, September 24
September 26, 1776 - Congress appoints
Jefferson, Franklin and Silas Deane to negotiate treaties with European
governments. Franklin and Deane then travel to France seeking financial and
military aid.
1776
- Samuel West, "On the Right to Rebel against Governors"
1776
- Charles Inglis, "The True Interest of America Impartially Stated"
October 9, 1776 - San Francisco is established by Spanish missionaries on the California
coast.
October 11, 1776 - A big defeat for the
inexperienced American Navy on Lake Champlain at the hands of a British fleet of
87 gunships. In the 7 hour Battle of Valcour Bay most of the American
flotilla of 83 gunships is crippled with the remaining ships destroyed in a
second engagement two days later.
October 28, 1776 - After evacuating his
main forces from Manhattan, Washington's army suffers heavy casualties in the Battle
of White Plains from Gen. Howe's forces. Washington then retreats westward.
1776
- Constitution of Maryland; November 11
November, 1776 - More victories for the British as Fort Washington on Manhattan and its
precious stores of over 100 cannon, thousands of muskets and cartridges is
captured by Gen. Howe. The Americans also lose Fort Lee in New Jersey to Gen.
Cornwallis. Washington's army suffers 3000 casualties in the two defeats. Gen.
Washington abandons the New York area and moves his forces further westward
toward the Delaware River. Cornwallis now pursues him.
December 6, 1776 - The naval base at Newport, Rhode Island, is captured by the British.
December 11, 1776 - Washington takes his
troops across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The next day, over concerns
of a possible British attack, the Continental Congress abandons Philadelphia for
Baltimore. Among Washington's troops is Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense,
who now writes "...These are the times that try men's souls: The
summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of his country: but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and
thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we
have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious
the triumph ."
December 25-26, 1776 - On Christmas, George Washington takes 2400 of his men and re-crosses the
Delaware River . Washington then conducts a surprise raid on 1500
British-Hessians (German mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey. The Hessians
surrender after an hour with nearly 1000 taken prisoner by Washington who
suffers only six wounded (including future president Lt. James Monroe).
Washington reoccupies Trenton. The victory provides a much needed boost to the
morale of all American Patriots.
January 3, 1777 - A second victory for Washington as his troops defeat the British at
Princeton and drive them back toward New Brunswick. Washington then establishes
winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. During the harsh winter, Washington's
army shrinks to about a thousand men as enlistments expire and deserters flee
the hardships. By spring, with the arrival of recruits, Washington will have
9000 men.
1777
- Constitution of Georgia; February 5
March 12, 1777 - The Continental
Congress returns to Philadelphia from Baltimore after Washington's successes
against the British in New Jersey.
Constitution
of the State of New York April 20 1777
April 27, 1777 -
American troops under
Benedict
Arnold defeat the British at Ridgefield, Connecticut.
June 14, 1777 - The flag of the United States consisting of 13 stars and 13 white and
red stripes is mandated by Congress;
John
Paul Jones is chosen by Congress to captain the 18 gun vessel Ranger
with his mission to raid coastal towns of England.
History
of the Flag The United States Flag is the third oldest of the National
Standards of the world; older than the Union Jack of Britain or the Tricolor of
France. The flag was first authorized by Congress June 14, 1777 . This
date is now observed as Flag Day throughout America.
June 17, 1777 -
A British force of 7700 men under
Gen.
John Burgoyne invades from Canada, sailing down Lake Champlain toward
Albany, planning to link up with Gen. Howe who will come north from New York
City, thus cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies.
July 6, 1777 - Gen. Burgoyne's troops stun
the Americans with the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Its
military supplies are greatly needed by Washington's forces. The loss of the
fort is a tremendous blow to American morale.
1777
- Constitution of the State of Vermont July 8
July 23, 1777 -
British Gen. Howe, with 15,000 men, sets sail from New York for Chesapeake Bay
to capture Philadelphia, instead of sailing north to meet up with Gen. Burgoyne.
July 27, 1777 -
Marquis
de Lafayette, a 19 year old French aristocrat, arrives in Philadelphia and
volunteers to serve without pay. Congress appoints him as a major general in the
Continental Army. Lafayette will become one of Gen. Washington's most trusted
aides.
August 1, 1777 - Gen. Burgoyne reaches the
Hudson after a grueling month spent crossing 23 miles of wilderness separating
the southern tip of Lake Champlain from the northern tip of the Hudson River.
August 16, 1777 - In the Battle of
Bennington , militiamen from Vermont, aided by Massachusetts troops, wipe out
a detachment of 800 German Hessians sent by Gen. Burgoyne to seize horses.
August 25, 1777 - British Gen. Howe
disembarks at Chesapeake Bay with his troops.
September 9-11, 1777 - In the Battle
of Brandywine Creek , Gen. Washington and the main American Army of 10,500
men are driven back toward Philadelphia by Gen. Howe's British troops. Both
sides suffer heavy losses. Congress then leaves Philadelphia and resettles in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
September 26, 1777 - British forces under Gen. Howe
occupy Philadelphia. Congress then relocates to York, Pennsylvania.
The
Battle of Saratoga (Sept. 1777) marked the turning point in the war of
the north. It was after this victory, that France decided to lend its support to
the fledgling colonies. The battle of Saratoga, were actually 2 distantly
different battles. The first called the battle of Freeman's Farm (also
known as First Saratoga).
October 7, 1777 - The Battle of Saratoga results in the
first major American victory of the Revolutionary War as
Gen.
Horatio Gates and Gen. Benedict Arnold defeat Gen. Burgoyne, inflicting 600
British casualties. American losses are only 150.
Articles
of Convention Between Lieutenant-General Burgoyne and Major General Gates;
October 16, 1777 [Aftermath of the Battle of
Saratoga]
October 17, 1777 -
Gen. Burgoyne and his entire army of 5700 men surrender to the Americans led by
Gen. Gates. The British are then marched to Boston, placed on ships and sent
back to England after swearing not serve again in the war against America. News
of the American victory at Saratoga soon travels to Europe and boosts support of
the American cause. In Paris the victory is celebrated as if it had been a
French victory. Ben Franklin is received by the French Royal Court. France
then recognizes the independence of America .
November 15, 1777 - Congress adopts the
Articles
of Confederation as the government of the new United States of America,
pending ratification by the individual states. Under the Articles, Congress is
the sole authority of the new national government.
The
Articles of Confederation: Agreed to by Congress 15 November 1777; In force
after ratification by Maryland, 1 March 1781 see also:
Articles
of Confederation and:
US
Articles of Confederation
December 17, 1777 - At Valley Forge in
Pennsylvania, the Continental Army led by Washington sets up winter quarters.
Albigence
Waldo - From the diary of a Surgeon at Valley Forge, 1777
1778 - Captain James Cook charts the Alaskan coast and is the first European to explore Hawaii.
February 6, 1778 - American and French representatives sign two treaties in Paris : a
Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance. France now officially
recognizes the United States and will soon become the major supplier of military
supplies to Washington's army. Both countries pledge to fight until American
independence is won, with neither country concluding any truce with Britain
without the other's consent, and guarantee each other's possessions in America
against all other powers. The American struggle for independence is thus
enlarged and will soon become a world war. After British vessels fire on
French ships, the two nations declare war. Spain will enter in 1779 as an ally
of France. The following year, Britain will declare war on the Dutch who have
been engaging in profitable trade with the French and Americans. In addition to
the war in America, the British will have to fight in the Mediterranean, Africa,
India, the West Indies, and on the high seas. All the while facing possible
invasion of England itself by the French.
February 23, 1778 -
Baron
von Steuben of Prussia arrives at Valley Forge to join the Continental Army.
He then begins much needed training and drilling of Washington's troops, now
suffering from poor morale resulting from cold, hunger, disease, low supplies
and desertions over the long, harsh winter.
March 16, 1778 - A Peace Commission is
created by the British Parliament to negotiate with the Americans. The
commission then travels to Philadelphia where its offers granting all of the
American demands, except independence, are rejected by Congress.
May 8, 1778 - British General Henry
Clinton replaces Gen. Howe as commander of all British forces in the American
colonies.
May 30, 1778 - A campaign of terror
against American frontier settlements, instigated by the British, begins as 300
Iroquois Indians burn Cobleskill, New York.
June 18, 1778 -
Fearing a blockade by French ships, British Gen. Clinton withdraws his troops
from Philadelphia and marches across New Jersey toward New York City. Americans
then re-occupy Philadelphia.
June 19, 1778 - Washington sends troops
from Valley Forge to intercept Gen. Clinton.
June 27/28, 1778 -
The Battle of Monmouth occurs in New Jersey as Washington's troops and
Gen. Clinton's troops fight to a standoff. On hearing that American Gen. Charles
Lee had ordered a retreat, Gen. Washington becomes furious. Gen. Clinton then
continues on toward New York
The
Battle of Monmouth Court House (June 1778) was an extenuation of the
British campaign to gain total control over the Philadelphia/New York/New Jersey
area. Washington and his Army have seen scurrying the Pennsylvania/New
Jersey/Delaware countryside in pursuit of Sir Henry Clinton's force. Washington
wants to attack Clinton, but a large number of his officers disagree with his
decision, most notably General Charles Lee. Washington, now in Hopewell N.J.,
has decided that General Maxwell and the New Jersey militia under General
Dickinson, will continue to covert attacks on the British flanks. One day later,
General Clinton, fearing an attack at New Brunswick, divides his army, placing
half under Lt. Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen, and the other half under Gen.
Cornwallis. They head for Monmouth Court House, where they will step off to
Sandy Hook.
The
Story of Molly Pitcher
An Artillery wife, Mary Hays McCauly (better
known as Molly Pitcher) shared the rigors of Valley Forge with her husband,
William Hays. Her actions during the battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778 became legendary. That day at Monmouth was as hot as Valley Forge was cold.
Someone had to cool the hot guns and bathe parched throats with water.
July 2, 1778 -
Congress returns once again to Philadelphia.
July 3, 1778 - British Loyalists and
Indians massacre American settlers in the Wyoming Valley of northern
Pennsylvania.
July 8, 1778 - Gen. Washington sets up
headquarters at West Point, New York.
July 10, 1778 - France declares war
against Britain .
August 8, 1778 -
American land forces and French ships attempt to conduct a combined siege
against Newport, Rhode Island. But bad weather and delays of the land troops
result in failure. The weather-damaged French fleet then sails to Boston for
repairs.
September 14, 1778 -
Ben
Franklin is appointed to be the American diplomatic representative in
France.
November 11, 1778 - At Cherry Valley, New
York, Loyalists and Indians massacre over 40 American settlers.
December 29, 1778 - The British begin a
major southern campaign with the capture of Savannah, Georgia, followed a month
later with the capture of Augusta.
April 1-30, 1779 -
In retaliation for Indian raids on colonial settlements, American troops from
North Carolina and Virginia attack Chickamauga Indian villages in Tennessee.
May 10, 1779 - British troops burn
Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia.
June 1, 1779 - British Gen. Clinton takes
6000 men up the Hudson toward West Point.
June 16, 1779 - Spain declares war on
England , but does not make an alliance with the American revolutionary
forces.
July 5-11, 1779 - Loyalists raid coastal
towns in Connecticut, burning Fairfield, Norwalk and ships in New Haven harbor.
July 10, 1779 - Naval ships from
Massachusetts are destroyed by the British while attempting to take the Loyalist
stronghold of Castine, Maine.
August 14, 1779 - A peace plan is approved
by Congress which stipulates independence, complete British evacuation of
America and free navigation on the Mississippi River.
August 29, 1779 - American forces defeat
the combined Indian and Loyalist forces at Elmira, New York. Following the
victory, American troops head northwest and destroy nearly 40 Cayuga and Seneca
Indian villages in retaliation for the campaign of terror against American
settlers.
Sept. 3 - Oct. 28 -
Americans suffer a major defeat while attacking the British at Savannah,
Georgia. Among the 800 American and Allied casualties is
Count
Casimir Pulaski of Poland. British losses are only 140.
September 23, 1779 - Off the coast of
England, John Paul Jones fights a desperate battle with a British frigate. When
the British demand his surrender, Jones responds, "I have not yet
begun to fight!" Jones then captures the frigate before his own
ship sinks.
September 27, 1779 -
John
Adams is appointed by Congress to negotiate peace with England.
October 17, 1779 - Washington sets up
winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, where his troops will suffer another
harsh winter without desperately needed supplies, resulting in low morale,
desertions and attempts at mutiny.
December 26, 1779 - British Gen. Clinton
sets sail from New York with 8000 men and heads for Charleston, South Carolina,
arriving there on Feb. 1.
Draft
for a Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, by Jefferson 1779
1780
- Constitution of the State of Massachusetts
An
Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Pennsylvania;
March 1, 1780
April 8, 1780 -
The British attack begins against Charleston as warships sail past the cannons
of Fort Moultrie and enter Charleston harbor. Washington sends reinforcements.
May 6, 1780 - The British capture Fort
Moultrie at Charleston, South Carolina.
May 12, 1780 - The worst American defeat
of the Revolutionary War occurs as the British capture Charleston and its
5400-man garrison (the entire southern American Army) along with four ships and
a military arsenal. British losses are only 225.
May 25, 1780 - After a severe winter, Gen.
Washington faces a serious threat of mutiny at his winter camp in Morristown,
New Jersey. Two Continental regiments conduct an armed march through the camp
and demand immediate payment of salary (overdue by 5 months) and full rations.
Troops from Pennsylvania put down the rebellion. Two leaders of the protest are
then hanged.
June 11, 1780 - A new Massachusetts
constitution is endorsed asserting "all men are born free and equal,"
which includes black slaves.
June 13, 1780 -
Gen.
Horatio Gates is commissioned by Congress to command the Southern Army.
June 23, 1780 - American forces defeat the
British in the Battle of Springfield , New Jersey.
July 11, 1780 - 6000 French soldiers under
Count
de Rochambeau arrive at Newport, Rhode Island. They will remain there for
nearly a year, blockaded by the British fleet.
August 3, 1780 - Benedict Arnold is
appointed commander of West Point . Unknown to the Americans, he has been
secretly collaborating with British Gen. Clinton since May of 1779 by supplying
information on Gen. Washington's tactics.
August 16, 1780 - A big defeat for the
Americans in South Carolina as forces under Gen. Gates are defeated by troops of
Gen.
Charles Cornwallis, resulting in 900 Americans killed and 1000 captured.
August 18, 1780 - An American defeat at
Fishing Creek, South Carolina, opens a route for Gen Cornwallis to invade North
Carolina.
September 23, 1780 - A British major in
civilian clothing is captured near Tarrytown, New York. He is found to be
carrying plans indicating Benedict Arnold intends to turn traitor and
surrender West Point. Two days later, Arnold hears of the spy's capture and
flees West Point to the British ship Vulture on the Hudson. He is later
named a brigadier general in the British Army and will fight the Americans.
October 7, 1780 - Gen. Cornwallis abandons
his invasion of North Carolina after Americans capture his reinforcements, a
Loyalist force of 1000 men.
October 14, 1780 -
Gen.
Nathanael Greene, Washington's most able and trusted General, is named as
the new commander of the Southern Army, replacing Gen. Gates. Greene then begins
a strategy of rallying popular support and wearing down the British by leading
Gen. Cornwallis on a six month chase through the back woods of South Carolina
into North Carolina into Virginia then back into North Carolina. The British,
low on supplies, are forced to steal from any Americans they encounter, thus
enraging them.
Thomas
Paine, The American Crisis, 1780-1783 see also:
1176-1783
- Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
January 3, 1781 -
Mutiny among Americans in New Jersey as troops from Pennsylvania set up camp
near Princeton and choose their own representatives to negotiate with state
officials back in Pennsylvania. The crisis is eventually resolved through
negotiations, but over half of the mutineers abandon the army.
January 17, 1781 - An American victory at
Cowpens, South Carolina, as
Gen.
Daniel Morgan defeats British
Gen.
Tarleton.
January 20, 1781 - Mutiny among American
troops at Pompton, New Jersey. The rebellion is put down seven days later by a
600-man force sent by Gen. Washington. Two of the leaders are then hanged.
1781
- Articles of Confederation; March 1 See also: The
Articles of Confederation, 1781
March 15, 1781 -
Forces under Gen. Cornwallis suffer heavy losses in the Battle of Guilford
Courthouse in North Carolina. As a result, Cornwallis abandons plans to
conquer the Carolinas and retreats to Wilmington, then begins a campaign to
conquer Virginia with an army of 7500 men.
May 21, 1781 - Gen. Washington and French
Gen. Rochambeau meet in Connecticut for a war council. Gen Rochambeau
reluctantly agrees to Washington's plan for a joint French naval and American
ground attack on New York.
June 4, 1781 -
Thomas
Jefferson narrowly escapes capture by the British at Charlottesville,
Virginia.
June 10, 1781 - American troops under
Marquis de Lafayette, Gen. Anthony Wayne and Baron von Steuben begin to form a
combined force in Virginia to oppose British forces under Benedict Arnold and
Gen. Cornwallis.
June 11, 1781 - Congress appoints a Peace
Commission comprised of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Henry
Laurens. The commission supplements John Adams as the sole negotiator with the
British.
July 20, 1781 - Slaves in Williamsburg,
Virginia, rebel and burn several buildings.
August 1, 1781 - After several months of
chasing Gen. Greene's army without much success, Gen. Cornwallis and his 10,000
tired soldiers arrive to seek rest at the small port of Yorktown, Virginia, on
the Chesapeake Bay. He then establishes a base to communicate by sea with Gen.
Clinton's forces in New York.
August 14, 1781 - Gen. Washington abruptly
changes plans and abandons the attack on New York in favor of Yorktown after
receiving a letter from French Admiral
Count
de Grasse indicating his entire 29-ship French fleet with 3000 soldiers is
now heading for the Chesapeake Bay near Cornwallis. Gen. Washington then
coordinates with Gen. Rochambeau to rush their best troops south to Virginia to
destroy the British position in Yorktown.
August 30, 1781 - Count de Grasse's French
fleet arrives off Yorktown, Virginia. De Grasse then lands troops near Yorktown,
linking with Lafayette's American troops to cut Cornwallis off from any retreat
by land.
September 1, 1781 - The troops of
Washington and Rochambeau arrive at Philadelphia.
September 5-8, 1781 - Off Yorktown, a major naval battle between the French fleet of de Grasse and
the outnumbered British fleet of Adm. Thomas Graves results in a victory for de
Grasse. The British fleet retreats to New York for reinforcements, leaving the
French fleet in control of the Chesapeake. The French fleet establishes a
blockade, cutting Cornwallis off from any retreat by sea. French naval
reinforcements then arrive from Newport.
September 6, 1781 - Benedict Arnold's
troops loot and burn the port of New London, Connecticut.
September 14-24, 1781 - De Grasse sends
his ships up the Chesapeake Bay to transport the armies of Washington and
Rochambeau to Yorktown.
September 28, 1781 - Gen. Washington, with
a combined Allied army of 17,000 men, begins the siege of Yorktown. French
cannons bombard Gen. Cornwallis and his 9000 men day and night while the Allied
lines slowly advance and encircle them. British supplies run dangerously low.
Battle
of Yorktown September/October 1781 The Battle of Yorktown was the
climax of the Revolutionary War. The combined forces of General Washington,
General Rochambeau, Admiral de Grasse, and General Lafayette all converged on
the greatest concentration of British troops in America. It took great amounts
of planning, courage, and skill to execute this attack.
October 17, 1781 - As Yorktown is about to
be taken, the British send out a flag of truce. Gen. Washington and Gen.
Cornwallis then work out
terms
of surrender.
Articles
of Capitulation; October 18, 1781 [Cornwallis'
Surrender at Yorktown
October 19, 1781 - As their band plays the
tune, "The world turned upside down," the British army marches out in
formation and surrenders at Yorktown. Hopes for a British victory in the war
against America are dashed. In the English Parliament, there will soon be calls
to bring this long costly war to an end.
From
the diary of Ebenezer Denny, 1781 describing the surrender of Cornwallis at
Yorktown
October 24, 1781 - 7000 British
reinforcements under Gen. Clinton arrive at Chesapeake Bay but turn back on
hearing of the surrender at Yorktown.
January 1, 1782 -
Loyalists begin leaving America, heading north to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
January 5, 1782 - The British withdraw
from North Carolina.
February 27, 1782 - In England, the House
of Commons votes against further war in America.
March 5, 1782 - The British Parliament
empowers the King to negotiate peace with the United States.
March 7, 1782 - American militiamen
massacre 96 Delaware Indians in Ohio in retaliation for Indian raids conducted
by other tribes.
March 20, 1782 - British Prime Minister,
Lord North, resigns, succeeded two days later by Lord Rockingham who seeks
immediate negotiations with the American peace commissioners.
April 4, 1782 - Sir Guy Carleton becomes
the new commander of British forces in America, replacing Gen. Clinton. Carleton
will implement the new British policy of ending hostilities and withdraw British
troops from America.
April 12, 1782 - Peace talks begin in
Paris between Ben Franklin and Richard Oswald of Britain.
April 16, 1782 - Gen. Washington
establishes American army headquarters at Newburgh, New York.
April 19, 1782 - The Dutch recognize the
United States of America as a result of negotiations conducted in the
Netherlands by John Adams.
Letter
of Samuell Searls - May 12, 1782
June 11, 1782 -
The British evacuate Savannah, Georgia.
June 20, 1782 - Congress adopts the Great
Seal of the United States of America.
August 19, 1782 - Loyalist and Indian
forces attack and defeat American settlers near Lexington, Kentucky.
August 25, 1782 - Mohawk Indian Chief
Joseph Brant conducts raids on settlements in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
August 27, 1782 - The last fighting of the
Revolutionary War between Americans and British occurs with a skirmish in South
Carolina along the Combahee River.
November 10, 1782 - The final battle of
the Revolutionary War occurs as Americans retaliate against Loyalist and Indian
forces by attacking a Shawnee Indian village in the Ohio territory.
November 30, 1782 - A preliminary peace
treaty is signed in Paris. Terms include recognition of American independence
and the boundaries of the United States, along with British withdrawal from
America.
December 14, 1782 - The British evacuate
Charleston, South Carolina.
December 15, 1782 - In France, strong
objections are expressed by the French over the signing of the peace treaty in
Paris without America first consulting them. Ben Franklin then soothes their
anger with a diplomatic response and prevents a falling out between France and
America.
1782
- Thomas Jefferson, Commerce between Master and Slave
1782 - Harvard Medical School opens.
January 20, 1783 -
England signs a preliminary peace treaty with France and Spain.
February 3, 1783 - Spain recognizes the
United States of America, followed later by Sweden, Denmark and Russia .
February 4, 1783 - England officially
declares an end to hostilities in America.
1783
- Contract Between the King and the Thirteen United States of North America
February 25
March 10, 1783 -
An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers camped at
Newburgh, New York. The letter calls for an unauthorized meeting and urges the
officers to defy the authority of the new U.S. national government (Congress)
for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day,
Gen. Washington forbids the unauthorized meeting and instead suggests a regular
meeting to be held on March 15. A second anonymous letter then appears and is
circulated. This letter falsely claims Washington himself sympathizes with the
rebellious officers.
March 15, 1783 - General Washington
gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of
Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy. Read
more about this
April 11, 1783 - Congress
officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.
April 26, 1783 - 7000 Loyalists set sail
from New York for Canada, bringing a total of 100,000 Loyalists who have now
fled America.
June 13, 1783 - The main part of the
Continental Army disbands.
June 24, 1783 - To avoid protests from
angry and unpaid war veterans, Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to
Princeton, New Jersey.
July 8, 1783 - The Supreme Court of
Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state .
September 3, 1783 - The
Treaty
of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain. Congress will
ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784.
Paris
Peace Treaty, 1783 see also:
The
Paris Peace Treaty (1783) and: 1783
- Treaty of Paris
October 7, 1783 - In Virginia, the
House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental
Army.
Native
American Tribes, 1783 See where the Native
American tribes claimed land in 1783, at the end of the American
Revolutionary War.
1783
- Constitution of the State of New Hapshire October 31
November 2, 1783 -
George Washington delivers his farewell address to his army. The next day,
remaining troops are discharged.
November 25, 1783 - Washington enters
Manhattan as the last British troops leave.
November 26, 1783 - Congress meets in
Annapolis, Maryland.
December 23, 1783 -
Following a triumphant journey from New York to Annapolis, George Washington,
victorious commander in chief of the American Revolutionary Army, appears before
Congress and voluntarily
resigns
his commission, an event unprecedented in history.
1783 - Noah Webster publishes his "Blue-Backed Speller," which standardizes spelling and word usage and becomes the chief textbook for generations of American schoolchildren.
January 14, 1784 -
The
Treaty
of Paris is ratified by Congress. The Revolutionary War
officially ends.
March 1, 1784 - A congressional committee
led by
Thomas
Jefferson proposes to divide up sprawling western territories into states,
to be considered equal with the original 13. Jefferson also proposes a ban on
slavery everywhere in the U.S. after 1800. This proposal is narrowly defeated.
August 30, 1784 - Beginning of the China
Trade, as the American Ship Empress of China, sailing from New York,
arrives at Canton, China. The ship will return with exotic goods, including
silks and tea, spurring large numbers of American merchants to enter the trade.
September 22, 1784 - Russians establish
their first settlement in Alaska, on Kodiak Island.
Treaty
with the Six Nations, Fort Stanwix, October 22, 1784
Indian
Land Cessions in the U.S. (1784-1894) See the list and the maps
showing the lands that Native Americans gave up to United States settlers.
James
Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance -1785 [regarding the
separation of Church and State] see also:
1785
- Memorial and Remonstrance (Virginia, 1785)
January 11, 1785 - Congress relocates to New York City, temporary capital of the U.S.
February 24, 1785 - Although England
refuses to send an ambassador to the U.S.,
John
Adams is sent as the American ambassador to Britain. He will spend the next
three years trying without success to settle problems regarding the existence of
a string of British forts along the Canadian border, pre-war debts owed to
British creditors, post-war American treatment of Loyalists, and the closing of
the West Indian colonies to American trade.
May 8, 1785 - Congress passes the Land
Ordinance of 1785 which divides the northwest territories into townships, each
set at 6 square miles, subdivided into 36 lots of 640 acres each, with each lot
selling for no less than $640.
1785 - Regular stage routes linking New York City, Boston, Albany and Philadelphia begin.
The
1786 - Barbary Treaties
The
Annapolis Convention, 1786
January 16, 1786 - The Virginia legislature passes Jefferson's Ordinance of Religious Freedom
guaranteeing that no man may be forced to attend or support any church or be
discriminated against because of his religious preference. This will later serve
as the model for the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Summer of 1786 - Americans suffer from
post-war economic depression including a shortage of currency, high taxes,
nagging creditors, farm foreclosures and bankruptcies.
August 8, 1786 - Congress adopts a
monetary system based on the Spanish dollar, with a gold piece valued at $10,
silver pieces at $1, one-tenth of $1 also in silver, and copper pennies.
August 22-25, 1786 - Angry representatives
from 50 towns in Massachusetts meet to discuss money problems including the
rising number of foreclosures, the high cost of lawsuits, heavy land and poll
taxes, high salaries for state officials, and demands for new paper money as a
means of credit.
August 31, 1786 - In Massachusetts, to
prevent debtors from being tried and put in prison, ex-Revolutionary War Captain
Daniel Shays, who is now a bankrupt farmer, leads an armed mob and prevents the
Northampton Court from holding a session.
September 20, 1786 - In New Hampshire, an
armed mob marches on the state assembly and demands enactment of an issue of
paper money.
September 26, 1786 - Shays' rebels,
fearing they might be charged with treason, confront 600 militiamen protecting
the state Massachusetts Supreme Court session in Springfield and force the court
to adjourn.
October 16, 1786 - Congress establishes
the United States mint.
October 20, 1786 - Congress authorizes
Secretary of War Henry Knox to raise a an army of 1340 men over concerns of the
safety of the federal arsenal at Springfield, Mass.
December 26, 1786 - Shays assembles 1200
men near Worcester, Mass. and heads toward Springfield. Massachusetts. Governor
Bowdoin then orders mobilization of a 4400 man force.
1786 - Inventor John Fitch sails the first steamboat in America on the Delaware River.
Shays's
Rebellion: Test for America
Why was this 1787 uprising so important? See how the federal government responded to the American
people's attempts to get paid for their Revolutionary War service. Find
transcriptions here of
original documents from Shays's Rebellion. Also, see the research
paper on the failed rebel attempt to overrun Springfield Arsenal that was
presented by Springfield Armory NHS's Historian at a January 2007 conference on
the 220th anniversary of the bloody replulse.
January 26, 1787 - Shays' rebels attack the federal arsenal at Springfield but are unsuccessful.
Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, then arrives with reinforcements
from Boston to pursue the rebels.
February 4, 1787 - Gen. Lincoln's troops
attack Shays' rebels at Petersham, Massachusetts, and capture 150 rebels. Shays
flees north to Vermont.
February 21, 1787 - Amid calls for a
stronger central government, due in part to Shays' Rebellion, Congress endorses
a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia,
beginning in May.
May 25, 1787 - With 29 delegates
from nine states present, the constitutional convention begins in the state
house (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. A total of 73 delegates have been
chosen by the states (excluding Rhode Island) although only 55 will actually
attend. There are 21 veterans of the Revolutionary War and 8 signers of the
Declaration of Independence. The delegates are farmers, merchants, lawyers and
bankers, with an average age of 42, and include the brilliant 36 year old James
Madison, the central figure at the convention, and 81 year old Ben Franklin.
Thomas Jefferson, serving abroad as ambassador to France, does not attend.
The delegates first vote is to keep the
proceedings absolutely secret. George Washington is then nominated as president
of the constitutional convention.
The
Constitutional Convention debates and the Anti-Federalist Papers
June 19, 1787 - Rather than revise the
Articles of Confederation, delegates at the constitutional convention vote to
create an entirely new form of national government separated into three branches
- the legislative, executive and judicial - thus dispersing power with checks
and balances, and competing factions, as a measure of protection against tyranny
by a controlling majority.
July 13, 1787 - Congress enacts the
Northwest
Ordinance which establishes formal procedures for transforming territories
into states. It provides for the eventual establishment of three to five states
in the area north of the Ohio River, to be considered equal with the original
13. The Ordinance includes a Bill of Rights that guarantees freedom of religion,
the right to trial by jury, public education and a ban on slavery in the
Northwest. See also: The
Northwest Ordinance: An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of
the United States northwest of the River Ohio. (July 13, 1787) see also: 1787
- The Northwest Ordinance
July 16, 1787 - At the constitutional
convention, Roger Sherman proposes a compromise which allows for representation
in the House of Representatives based on each state's population and equal
representation for all of the states in the Senate. The numerous black slaves in
the South are to counted at only three fifths of their total number. A rough
draft of the constitution is then drawn up.
August 6-10, 1787 - Items in the draft
constitution are debated including the length of terms for the president and
legislators, the power of Congress to regulate commerce, and a proposed 20 year
ban on any Congressional action concerning slavery.
The
letter presenting the Constitution see also:
Letter
of Transmittal of US Constitution September 17, 1787
September 17, 1787 - Thirty nine delegates
vote to approve and then sign the final draft of the new Constitution. The
Legislative Branch will consist of two houses. The upper house (Senate )
to be composed of nominees selected by state assemblies for six year terms; the
lower house (House of Representatives ) to be elected every two
years by popular vote. The Executive Branch is to be headed by a
chief executive (President) elected every four years by presidential electors
from the states. The President is granted sweeping powers including: veto power
over Congress which can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each house;
commander in chief of the armies; power to make treaties with the advice and
consent of two-thirds of the Senate; power to appoint judges, diplomats and
other officers with the consent of the Senate; power to recommend legislation
and responsibility for execution of the laws. The President is required to
report each year to the legislative branch on the state of the nation. The
legislative branch has the power to remove the President from office. The House
can impeach the President for treason, bribery or other high crimes and
misdemeanors with actual removal from office occurring by a two-thirds vote of
the Senate. The Judicial Branch consists of a Supreme Court headed by a chief justice. The court
has the implied power to review laws that conflict with the Constitution.
September 19, 1787 - For the first time
the proposed Constitution is made public as printed copies of the text are
distributed. A storm of controversy soon arises as most people had only expected
a revision of the Articles of Confederation, not a new central government with
similarities to the British system they had just overthrown.
September 28, 1787 - Congress votes to
send the Constitution to the state legislatures for ratification, needing the
approval of nine states.
1787
- Wilson, James, State House Yard Speech on the Constitution, 6 October
October 27, 1787 - The Federalists, who
advocate a strong central government and approval of the new Constitution, begin
publishing essays in favor of ratification. Written by Alexander Hamilton,
James
Madison and John Jay, the total number of articles will eventually reach 85
and be compiled and published as the Federalist Papers. Federalist
Papers at Library of Congress see also: The
Complete Federalist Papers and see also: 1787
- The Federalist Papers
Apportionment
& Slavery: Northern and Southern Views "The AntiFederalist,
No. 54" November 15, 1787
1787
- Franklin, Benjamin. Disapproving and Accepting the Constitution
1787
- Benjamin Franklin, Dangers of a Salaried Bureaucracy
December 7, 1787 - Delaware is the first
of the nine states needed to ratify the Constitution. To be followed by:
Pennsylvania (Dec. 12) New Jersey (Dec. 18) Georgia (Jan. 2, 1788) Connecticut
(Jan. 9) Massachusetts (Feb. 7) Maryland (April 28) South Carolina (May 23) and
New Hampshire (June 21).
1787
- The Anti-Federalist Papers
1787 - John Cabot and Joshua Fisher establish the first American cotton mill at Beverly, Massachusetts.
February 6, 1788 - Anti-Federalists in Massachusetts, led by
Sam
Adams and John Hancock, favor a more decentralized system of government and
give their support to ratification of the Constitution only after a compromise
is reached that amendments will be included which guarantee civil liberties.
February 27, 1788 - In Massachusetts,
following an incident in which free blacks were kidnapped and transported to the
island of Martinique, the Massachusetts legislature declares the slavery trade
illegal and provides for monetary damages to victims of kidnappings.
March 24, 1788 - In Rhode Island, the
Constitution is rejected by a popular referendum. The state, fearful of
consolidated federal power, had refused to send a delegation to the
constitutional convention in Philadelphia and had subsequently rejected a state
convention to consider ratification.
June 2, 1788 - In Virginia,
anti-Federalist forces, led by Patrick Henry and George Mason, oppose
ratification of the Constitution. They are joined by
Richard
Henry Lee who calls for a bill of rights and a lower house set up on a more
democratic basis.
1788
- Corbin, Francis. Answering Patrick Henry, 7 June [criticism
of the Constitutional powers of the government]
June 25, 1788 - In Virginia, the Federalists, led by James Madison, finally prevail as
ratification of the Constitution (with a proposed bill of rights and 20 other
changes) is endorsed by a close vote of 89 to 75.
July 2, 1788 - A formal announcement is
made by the president of Congress that the
Constitution
of the United States is now in effect, having been ratified by the required
nine states.
The
USA Constitution see also:
The
Constitution of the United States of America
July 8, 1788 - A committee in the old
Congress (still under the Articles of Confederation) is established to prepare
for an orderly transfer of power, including procedures for electing
representatives to the first Congress under the new Constitution and procedures
for choosing the electors of the first president.
July 26, 1788 - The state of New York
votes 30 to 27 to endorse ratification while also recommending a bill of rights
be included.
September 13, 1788 - New York City is
chosen by Congress to be the temporary seat of the new U.S. government.
October-December - Commodity prices
stabilize, spurring economic recovery and a gradual return to pre-war levels of
prosperity.
November 1, 1788 - The old Congress,
operating under the Articles of Confederation, adjourns. The U.S. is temporarily
without a central government.
November 21, 1788 - North Carolina
endorses the Constitution by a vote of 194 to 77.
December 23, 1788 - Maryland proposes
giving a 10 square-mile area along the Potomac River for the establishment of a
federal town to be the new seat of the U.S. government.
1788 - African Americans found the First African Baptist Church, the first African-American church in the United States.
Federalists,
1789-1801 In April, 1789, the new government began with George
Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President. The Federalists also
controlled both houses of Congress. The Anti-Federalists, who had opposed the
Constitution, had representatives in Congress but many wanted to wait and see
how this new government would be. Washington had been elected unanimously by the
Electoral College; he was the most respected man in the country.
January 7, 1789 - Presidential electors are chosen in the 11 ratifying states, except New York.
Treaty
with the Six Nations, Fort Hamar, January 9, 1789
January 23, 1789 - Georgetown University, the first Catholic college in the U.S., is founded by
Father John Carroll.
February 4, 1789 - Ballots are cast in the
first presidential election, to be counted on April 6.
March 4, 1789 - The first Congress
convenes in New York City, but is unable to achieve a quorum, since most members
are still traveling there.
April 1, 1789 - A quorum is reached in
Congress with 30 of 59 members present and the House of Representatives begins
to function. Of the 59 members, 54 had also been delegates to the constitutional
convention.
April 6, 1789 - In the Senate, with 9 of
22 senators present, the presidential ballots cast on Feb. 4 are counted. George
Washington is the unanimous choice for President with 69 votes. John Adams is
elected Vice President with 34 votes. Messengers are then sent to inform
Washington and Adams.
April 14, 1789 - Charles Thomson,
secretary of Congress, arrives at Mount Vernon and informs George Washington of
his election as President. Two days later, Washington leaves for New York City.
April 21, 1789 - John Adams arrives in New
York and is sworn in as Vice President, then takes his seat as presiding officer
of the Senate.
April 23, 1789 - After an eight day
triumphal journey, Washington arrives in New York City.
April 30, 1789 - On the balcony of New
York's Federal Hall, George Washington, at age 57, is sworn in as the first
President of the United States. He then enters the Senate chamber to deliver his
inaugural
address.
May 7, 1789 - The first inaugural ball
occurs in honor of
President
Washington.
June 1, 1789 - In its first act, Congress
establishes the procedure for administering oaths of office.
Madison
speech proposing the Bill of Rights, June 8, 1789 see also: James
Madison, speech proposing the Bill of Rights
Presidential
Oath of Office
George
Washington
July 4, 1789 - Congress passes its first tax , an 8.5 percent protective tax on 30
different items, with items arriving on American ships charged at a lower rate
than foreign ships. {RMSG NOTE: Doesn't it seem ironic that Congress
established its first tax on what would come to be known as "Independence
Day?"}
July 14, 1789 - In France, the French
Revolution begins with the fall of the Bastille in Paris, an event witnessed by
the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson.
July 20, 1789 - Congress passes the
Tonnage Act of 1789 levying a 50 cents per ton tax on foreign ships entering
American ports, 30 cents per ton on American built but foreign owned ships, and
6 cents per ton on American ships.
July 27, 1789 - Congress begins
organization of the departments of government with the establishment of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, later renamed the Department of State. Followed
by the War Department (Aug. 7) Treasury Dept. (Sept. 2) and Postmaster General
under the Treasury Dept. (Sept. 2).
September 22, 1789 - The Federal
Judiciary Act passed by Congress establishes a six-man Supreme Court,
attorney general, 13 federal district courts and 3 circuit courts. All federal
cases would originate in the district court and, if appealed, would go to the
circuit court and from there to the Supreme Court.
September 25, 1789 - Congress submits 12 proposed constitutional amendments to the states for
ratification. The first ten will be ratified and added to the Constitution in
1791 as the
Bill
of Rights . see also:
Bill
of Rights and the Amendments to The Constitution
September 29, 1789 - The U.S. Army is
established by Congress. Totaling 1000 men, it consists of one regiment of
eight infantry companies and one battalion of four artillery companies.
November 26, 1789 - A Day of Thanksgiving
is established by a congressional resolution and a proclamation by George
Washington.
1790: First U.S. Patent The United States
issues its first patent to William Pollard of Philadelphia. His machine roves
and spins cotton.
1790
- First Annual Message of George Washington, January 8
March 1, 1790 - A Census Act is passed by Congress. The first census, finished on Aug.
1, indicates a total population of nearly 4 million persons in the U.S. and
western territories. African Americans make up 19 percent of the population,
with 90 percent living in the South. Native Americans were not counted, although
there were likely over 80 tribes with 150,000 persons. For white Americans, the
average age is under 16. Most white families are large, with an average of eight
children born. The white population will double every 22 years.
The largest American city is Philadelphia, with
42,000 persons, followed by New York (33,000) Boston (18,000) Charleston
(16,000) and Baltimore (13,000). The majority of Americans are involved in
agricultural pursuits, with little industrial activity occurring at this time.
April 17, 1790 - Benjamin Franklin
dies in Philadelphia at age 84. His funeral four days later draws over
20,000 mourners.
July 10, 1790 - The House of
Representatives votes to locate the national capital on a 10 square-mile site
along the Potomac, with President George Washington choosing the exact location.
1790
- Constitution of the State of Rhode Island
1790
- Second Annual Message of George Washington December 8
1790 - The Columbia becomes the first American ship to sail around the world, a journey of 42,000 miles that took 2 1/2 years.
1791
- Third Annual Message of George Washington. October 25
Thomas
Paine - The Rights of Man (1791-1792)
1791 - Vermont becomes the first new state to join the original thirteen United States.
1791 - The Bill of Rights becomes part of the United States Constitution, guaranteeing Americans the right of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion.
1792
- Fourth Annual Message of George Washington. November 6
1792 - Robert Thomas begins publishing The Farmer's Almanac, a publication containing information about New England life along with valuable data on the weather, agriculture and other practical matters.
1793
- The Proclamation of Neutrality April 22 see also: Proclamation
of Neutrality, 1793 and 1793
- Proclamation of Neutrality
1793
- Fifth Annual Message of George Washington. December 3
1793
- George Washington, Second Inaugural Address
Alexander
1793 - Hamilton, Opinion as to the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United
States
1793
- Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Act, making it a crime to hide a fugitive from enslavement or interfere with his or her arrest.
1793 -Yellow fever epidemic kills more than 4,000 people in Philadelphia.
1794: Cotton Gin Eli Whitney patents his
machine to comb and deseed bolls of cotton. His invention makes possible a
revolution in the cotton industry and the rise of "King Cotton" as the
main cash crop in the South, but will never make him rich. Instead of buying his
machine, farmers built bogus versions of their own.
An
Act to Prohibit the Carrying on the Slave Trade from the United States to any
Foreign Place or Country March 22, 1794 -
The
Jay Treaty, 1794 see also:
The
Jay Treaty
Learn more about this treaty that
avoided war with Great Britain but ultimately proved unpopular in America.
Thomas
Paine, The Age of Reason - 1794
The Whiskey Rebellion
This 1794 uprising was
the first test of federal determination to keep the peace. Farmers resented what
they thought was an unfair (1791) tax and made a lot of noise. President George
Washington responded by calling out the militia.
1794
- Sixth Annual Message of George Washington. November 19
The
Canandaigua Treaty of 1794
Treaty
between the United States and the Oneida, Tuscorora and Stockbridge Indians
living in the country of the Oneidas 1794
1794 - The first major turnpike in America is completed between Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
1795
- Seventh Annual Message of George Washington. December 8
The
Greenville Treaty with a number of Indian Tribes, 1795 August 3
Farmer's
1795 - Almanack
1795 - Thomas Pickney negotiates a treaty with Spain that opens navigation on the Mississippi River to Americans.
1796 - Americans get their first look at an elephant when Jacob Crowninshield of Massachusetts exhibits the animal for profit.
1797: Interchangeable Parts Eli Whitney
contracts to manufacture 10,000 muskets for the U.S. Army. At the time, an
entire musket would be made by a single person, without standardized
measurements. Whitney divided the labor into several discrete steps and
standardized parts to make them interchangeable.
1797
- Washington's Farewell Address
1797
- First Annual Message of John Adams. November 22
John
Adams
1797 - John Chapman, known as "Johnny Appleseed," begins planting apple seeds along the Ohio Valley.
Virginia
Resolution - 1798
1798
- The Alien Act - An Act Respecting Alien Enemies: July 6, 1798
1798
- Second Annual Message of John Adams. December 8
The
Sedition Act of 1798 see also: The
1798 - Sedition Act of 1798
1798 - Eli Whitney develops the idea of mass production. The following year he wins a government contract to manufacture firearms with virtually identical parts.
Kentucky
Resolution - 1799 see also: 1799
- The Kentucky Resolutions
1799
- Third Annual Message of John Adams. December 3
1799 - Pennsylvania farmers stage a revolt against a federal tax on their property.
1799 - Less than three years after his retirement from the Presidency, George Washington dies at the age of 67 at his Mount Vernon, Virginia plantation. He is mourned by millions of Americans.
1800
- Fourth Annual Message of John Adams. 22 November
An
Act in Addition to the Act Entitled "An Act to Prohibit the Carrying on the
Slave Trade from the United States to any Foreign Place or Country."
May 10, 1800 Free African Americans in Philadelphia unsuccessfully petition the United States Congress to end enslavement.
1800 - A Philadelphia shoemaker is the first to design shoes especially for the right and left feet.
1801: Steam-Powered Pumping Station The
Fairmount Water Works harnesses steam power to provide water for the city of
Philadelphia.
1801 - Mastodon fossils are discovered on a New York farm, the first skeletons ever found of the extinct mammal.
1801
- First Annual Message of Thomas Jefferson. December 8
Thomas
Jefferson
1802
- Second Annual Message of Thomas Jefferson. December 15
1802 - Gideon Putnam builds a resort hotel, one of the earliest in America, at Saratoga Springs, New York.
1803: Spray Gun Dr. Alan de Vilbiss of
Toledo, Ohio, invented this device to replace swabs as the method of applying
medication to oral and nasal passages.
1803
- Third Annual Message of Thomas Jefferson. October 17
1803
U.S. Supreme Court, Marbury v Madison
1803
Letter from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriweather Lewis
1803
- The Louisiana Purchase Treaty
An
Act to Prevent the Importation of Certain Persons into Certain States, Where, by
the Laws Thereof, Their Admission is Prohibited February 28,1803
1805: Amphibious Vehicle Oliver Evans'
"Orukter Amphibolos" dredges the waters near the Philadelphia docks.
Its steam-powered engine drove either wooden wheels or a paddle wheel. Evans
demonstrated his machine in Philadelphia's Center Square, where he passed the
hat for money.
1805
- Thomas Jefferson's 2nd Inaugural Address (1805)
1805
- Fifth Annual Message of Thomas Jefferson. December 3
1805
- New England Primer
1805
- Chickasaw - Treaties Between the Chickasaw and the United States
1805 - A covered bridge, America's first, is built over the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia.
1806: Coffee Pot Coffee drinkers the world
over no longer have to chew their brew. Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford,
invents a coffee pot with a metal sieve to strain away the grounds.
1806
- Sixth Annual Message of Thomas Jefferson. December 2
1806 - Zebulon Pike explores the territory that later became the American southwest, discovering Pike's Peak, the famous Colorado mountain named for him.
1806 - Congress authorizes improvements to the Natchez Trace, a Native American trail running from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi, turning it into a road for American settlers.
1807: Steamboat Robert Fulton, former
miniaturist and landscape painter, opens American rivers to two-way travel. His
steamboat the "Clermont" travels 150 miles upstream between New York
and Albany at an average speed of 5 mph.
1807
- New England Primer
1807
- An Act to Provide for Surveying the Coasts of the United States; February 10
1807
- Seventh Annual Message of Thomas Jefferson. October 27
An
Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves into any Port or Place Within the
Jurisdiction of the United States, From and After the First Day of January, in
the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight March 2, 1807
1808
James Madison
1809 - William Maclure publishes the first detailed geological survey of the United States.
1810 - American settlers in the region of western Florida rebel against Spanish control and establish ties to the United States.
1811
- Brackenridge, Henry Marie, Journal of a Voyage up the Missouri River, 1811
1811 - Construction begins on the National Road, a main route for settlers moving west and farmers shipping farm products to eastern cities. By the time it was completed in 1838, the road ran from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois.
1811 - Enslaved African Americans lead an unsuccessful revolt in Louisiana.
Luttig,
John C., Journal of a fur-trading expedition on the Upper Missouri, 1812-1813
1812 - The United States goes to war with Great Britain after the British interfere with American trade and force American sailors to serve in the British navy.
1812 - At his Waltham, Massachusetts factory, Francis Cabot Lowell installs the first American power loom, a machine for weaving cotton cloth.
1813
- James Madison, Second Inaugural Address
1813: Armored Warship Steam power enhances
military power. Robert Fulton's "Demolos" sails. At 140 ft. in length,
it carries a thirty 32-pound cannon.
1813 - United States Navy wins a battle with a British war ship on Lake Erie, strengthening the American position on the Great Lakes.
1814: Plough Farmers had furrowed the
rocky soil of New England with wooden-tipped ploughs. John Jethro Woods of
Poplar Ridge, New York, creates a plough with a replaceable cast-iron tip,
making farming in America easier.
1814
- Francis Scott Keyes, Star Spangled Banner, September 20 see
also:
Francis
1814 - Scott Key, The Star-Spangled Banner
1814
- Amendments to the Constitution Proposed by the Hartford Convention
Treaty
of Ghent Between the United States and Great Britain - Article 10 24
December 1814 Ends War of 1812.
1815 - Treaty of Peace, Signed Algiers June 30 and July 3
1816 - American Colonization Society is organized to buy land in West Africa for the resettlement of free blacks.
1817: Erie Canal Overland travel in the
1800s is slow and arduous. Engineers propose a plan to supplement natural water
systems by digging a 363 mile canal to connect the Hudson River with Lake Erie.
The "Seneca Chief" will make the inaugural run through the Erie Canal
in 1825.
1817
- Opening of New York to Liverpool Packet Line
James
Monroe
1818: Profile Lathe Thomas Blanchard of
Middlebury, Connecticut, builds a woodworking lathe that does the work of 13
men. His invention helps to lower wood prices.
1818
- Constitution of the State of Connecticut
1818 - The President's House in Washington, D.C., burned by the British during the War of 1812, becomes known as the "White House" when it is repaired and given a gleaming coat of white paint.
1819
-Constitution of the State of Connecticut
1819
- U. S. Supreme Court, Culloch v The State of Maryland
1819
- U.S. Supreme Court, Dartmouth College v Woodward
1819 - Spanish Florida becomes a territory of the United States through a treaty signed with Spain.
Railroad
Maps 1820-1900 These Library of Congress maps show in detail the
where and the when of railroad expansion in the United States.
1820 - Henry Schoolcraft begins his research into the history and culture of Native Americans in the Lake Superior region.
1820 - The United States government declares that any American involved in the importation of Africans for enslavement will receive the death penalty.
1821
- Cohen v. Virginia
1821 - The American colony of Liberia is established on the west coast of Africa, and is settled by 130 African Americans.
1822 - Denmark Vesey, a free African American living in Charleston, South Carolina, plans a rebellion against enslavement, but is discovered.
1823
- Dr. Richard Furman, Expostion on Slavery, reflecting the Views of Baptists
1823
- The Monroe Doctrine, December 2 The United States adopts a policy, known as the Monroe Doctrine, discouraging further colonization of either North or South America by European countries.
1824
- U.S. Supreme Court, Gibbons v Ogden
1824
- Ross, Alexander, Journal - Snake Country Expedition
1824 - Congress authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to survey potential road and canal routes for the growing American nation.
1824 - American Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette, is welcomed with enthusiasm during a return visit to the United States from his native France.
1824 - In Troy, New York, educator Emma Willard opens the first women's school with college-level courses.
John Q. Adams
Ogden,
Peter Skene, Accounts of an 1825 Expedition into Utah
1825 - The 350 mile long Erie Canal, the most important passenger and freight route from the East to the Midwest, is completed.
1826
- Cemetery in Algiers; March 21
1826 - Painters like Thomas Cole capture the natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley on canvas, founding a distinctly American style of landscape painting.
1827 - John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish of New York City publish the first African-American newspaper, Freedom's Journal.
1827 - Artist and ornithologist John James Audubon publishes the first of his drawings of the hundreds of colorful birds of North America.
1828 - Noah Webster completes his monumental American Dictionary of the English Language, after working on it for 20 years.
Andrew Jackson
1829
- Treaty of Commerce and Navigation Between Austria-Hungary and The United
States; August 27
1829 - The railroad age begins as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad carries its first passengers in a horse-drawn excursion train.
1830: Electro-magnetic Motor Joseph Henry,
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science at the Albany Academy, builds a
motor employing the electromagnet, invented by William Sturgeon in London just
five years earlier. Henry's motor has no practical use.
1830 - Louis Godey publishes the Lady's Book, the first successful women's magazine in the United States.
1831: Reaping Machine The McCormick
Reaper, which cut grain much faster than a man with a scythe, failed to catch
on. McCormick sold the first unit around 1840; by 1844, only 50 had sold. After
taking his operation to Chicago, McCormick prospered. By 1871 his company was
selling 10,000 reapers per year.
1831
- U.S. Supreme Court, The Cherokee Nation v The State of Georgia
The
Confessions of Nat Turner, 1831 Nat Turner led a revolt of enslaved African Americans in Southampton County, Virginia.
An
Act concerning Free Negroes and Mulattos, Servants, and Slaves
(APPROVED, FEBRUARY 10, 1831 ) Indiana passed several laws intended to
restrict the migration of African Americans into the state. Though one historian
has noted that such laws were "more symbolic than enforceable," they
provide ample evidence that the vast majority of Hoosiers had no wish to share
their state with Blacks. Article XIII was declared invalid in 1866.
1831 - William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing the abolitionist newspaper,
The Liberator , to encourage the end of enslavement.
1831 - Steam locomotive DeWitt Clinton pulls ornate railroad coaches filled with passengers on a 12 mile journey between Albany and Schenectady, New York.
1831 -
Ball,
1832 - John, Across the Plains to Oregon
1832-1834
Wyeth, Nathaniel J.: The Journals of Expeditions to the Oregon Country 1832 -
1834 and Selected Letters.
1832
- Andrew Jackson, Bank Veto
1832
- Henry Clay, Speech on the Bank Veto
1832
- President Jackson's Proclamation Regarding Nullification, December 10
Worcester
v. Georgia [regarding Indian lands]
1832 - The first school for the blind opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
1833: Sewing Machine Walter Hunt invents
the first lock-stitch sewing machine, but loses interest and does not patent his
invention. Later, Elias Howe secures patent on an original lock-stitch machine,
but fails to manufacture and sell it. Still later, Isaac Singer infringes on
Howe's patent to make his own machine, which makes Singer rich. Hunt also
invents the safety pin, which he sells outright for $400.
1833
- BARRON V. MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, 32 U.S. 243 [the
limitations imposed by the Bill of Rights does not extend to state governments]
1833
- Calhoun, John. Against the Force Bill," 15-16 February
1833
- Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural
1833 - The first national abolitionist organization, the American Anti-Slavery Society, is formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1834: Threshing Machine John A. and Hiram
Abial Pitts invent a machine that automatically threshes and separates grain
from chaff, freeing farmers from a slow and laborious process.
1834 - Henry Blair, the first African American to receive a patent, invents a corn planter.
1835
- Constitution of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 15 February
1835
- Declaration of the People of Texas. December 7
1835
- Andrew Jackson on the Necessity of Indian Removal. December 7
1835 - Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville writes a report on American society,
Democracy in America , after traveling 7,000 miles throughout the United States.
1836: Revolver To finance the development
of his "six shooter," Samuel Colt traveled the lecture circuit, giving
demonstrations of laughing gas. Colt's new weapon failed to catch on, and he
went bankrupt in 1842 at age 28. He reorganized and sold his first major order
to the War Department during the Mexican War in 1846, and went on to become
rich.
1836
- Texas Declaration of Independence March 2
1836
- Address of the Honorable S. F. Austin, Delivered at Louisville, Kentucky,
March 7
1836
- William Barret Travis: Letter from the commandancy of the Alamo, see also: William
Barret Travis: Letter from the commandancy of the Alamo, 1836
1836 - Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and 200 Texans are killed when the Alamo, a fort in San Antonio, Texas, is captured by Mexican leader Santa Anna.
1836-1847
- Letters and Journals of Narcissa Whitman [missionary life in the
Hawaiian Island]
1837: Power Tools Thomas Davenport of
Brandon, Vermont, is one of the first to find a practical application for the
electric motor. He uses a motor he built to power shop machinery and also builds
the first electric model railroad car.
1837
- John C. Calhoun, Slavery a Positive Good,February 6
1837
- The Blessings of Slavery, from The Plaindealer (New York),
February 25
1837
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Hymn, July 4
1837
- Proprietors of Charles River Bridge v. Proprietors of Warren Bridge, 36 U.S.
420 [". . .a State law may be retrospective in its character, and may
divest vested rights. . . "]
Martin
van Buren's
Inaugural
address, 1837 see also: 1837
- Martin VanBuren, Inaugural Address
1837 - A mob attacks and kills abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy in his newspaper office in Alton, Illinois.
1837 - John Deere creates a steel-bladed plow that turns moist soil with ease, contributing to the expansion of farming in the
Midwest and western United States.
Treaty
made at Buffalo Creek in the State of New York, January 15, 1838 with the
representatives of the Nations of New York Indians
1838 - "Trail of Tears" claims 4,000 lives as 15,000 Cherokee Native Americans are forced to leave their lands in Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, and travel to new lands in Oklahoma.
The
"Amistad" Case In February of 1839 , Portuguese
slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped
them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. This abduction violated all
of the treaties then in existence. Fifty-three Africans were purchased by two
Spanish planters and put aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad for shipment
to a Caribbean plantation. On July 1, 1839, the Africans seized the ship, killed
the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. On August
24, 1839, the Amistad was seized off Long Island, NY, by the U.S. brig Washington.
The planters were freed and the Africans were imprisoned in New Haven, CT, on
charges of murder. Although the murder charges were dismissed, the Africans
continued to be held in confinement as the focus of the case turned to salvage
claims and property rights. President Van Buren was in favor of extraditing the
Africans to Cuba. However, abolitionists in the North opposed extradition and
raised money to defend the Africans. Claims to the Africans by the planters, the
government of Spain, and the captain of the brig led the case to trial in the
Federal District Court in Connecticut. The court ruled that the case fell within
Federal jurisdiction and that the claims to the Africans as property were not
legitimate because they were illegally held as slaves. The case went to the
Supreme Court in January 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams argued the
defendants' case. Adams defended the right of the accused to fight to regain
their freedom. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Africans, and 35 of
them were returned to their homeland. The others died at sea or in prison while
awaiting trial.
1839 - Charles Goodyear invents a process for vulcanizing rubber, hardening the naturally sticky substance for use in many different products.
1839 - The era of photography begins in the United States, as Louis Daguerre's process for capturing photographic images is introduced.
1840: Paint Tube John Rand invents a collapsible metal squeeze tube. The container immediately hits markets in Europe, where it is used to hold and dispense artists' pigments.
William
H. Harrison's
Inaugural
address, 1841 see also: William
Henry Harrison, Inaugural Address
1841
- Argument of John Quincy Adams, Before the Supreme Court of the United States :
in the Case of the United States, Appellants, vs. Cinque, and Others, Africans,
Captured in the schooner Amistad, by Lieut. Gedney
1841 - Argument of Roger S. Baldwin
Before the Supreme Court in the Case of U.S. Appellants vs. Cinque, and Other,
Africans of the Amistad
1842: Ether Anesthesia Crawford Williamson
Long, of Jefferson, Georgia, performs the first operation using an ether-based
anesthesia, when he removes a tumor from the neck of Mr. James Venable. Long
will not reveal his discovery until 1849.
Webster-Ashburton
Treaty - Articles 8 and 9 - 9 August 1842
CHEROKEE
SLAVE REVOLT OF 1842 by Art T. Burton Black slavery in America
usually evokes images of the antebellum South, but few realize that members of
the Five Civilized Tribes--the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and
Seminoles--in Indian Territory, today's Oklahoma, also had slaves. Like their
counterparts in the South, Indian slaveholders feared slave revolts. Those fears
came true in 1842 when slaves in the Cherokee Nation made a daring dash for
freedom.
1842
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Transcendentalist
1842 - The first gummed postage stamps bring changes in the postal system, as senders--rather than the receivers--begin paying for a letter to be delivered.
1842 - The state of Massachusetts passes a law that limits children under 12, who worked in factories, to a ten-hour day.
1843: Vulcanized Rubber Rubber, so named
because it could erase pencil, had long been considered a waterproofing agent,
but in its natural state, it melted in hot weather and froze solid in the cold.
After ten years of tireless work and abject poverty, Charles Goodyear perfects
his process for "vulcanizing" rubber, or combining it with sulfur to
create a soft, pliable substance unaffected by temperature.
1843 - African American Sojourner Truth starts her travels speaking against enslavement.
1844: Telegraph Samuel F.B. Morse
demonstrates his telegraph by sending a message to Baltimore from the chambers
of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC. The message, "What hath God
wrought?," marks the beginning of a new era in communication.
1844
- Catherine Sager, Across the Plains in 1844 [The
Oregon Trail and the Whitman Massacre]
1844
- Catlin, George, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of
North American Indians.
1845: False Teeth Cladius Ash helps
Americans get a better grip on what they're eating. He creates a new type of
artificial dental wear featuring individual porcelain teeth mounted with steel
springs.
James
K. Polk's
Inaugural
address, 1845 see also: James
Polk, Inaugural Address
Thirteenth
annual report presented to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society : by its
Board of Managers ; January 22, 1845
1845
about - The Whalers' Song http://www.vlib.us/am
1845
- Congressional Resolution for Texas Annexation 1 March
1845 - The first clipper ship is launched, a vessel capable of traveling at double the speed of the older merchant ships.
1846: Cylinder Printing Press Richard M.
Hoe creates a revolution in printing by rolling a cylinder over stationary
plates of inked type and using the cylinder to make an impression on paper. This
eliminated the need for making impressions directly from the type plates
themselves, which were heavy and difficult to maneuver.
1846 - Elias Howe invents the sewing machine.
1846
- Declaration of War with Mexico, May 11
Polk
Declares War on Mexico Message of President Polk, May 11, 1846 To
the Senate and House of Representatives
PBS:
The Mexican War (1846-48) This outstanding site gives you
background, profiles, great maps and graphics, and much more!
1846
The Oregon Treaty, June 15 Oregon Treaty signed with Great Britain sets the boundary between the United States and Canada at the 49th parallel.
1846
- Bill of Rights for the Territory of New Mexico; September 22
1847 - Thousands of Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine in Ireland come to the United States.
1847 - Maria Mitchell of Nantucket, Massachusetts discovers a new comet, later becoming the first woman professor of astronomy in the United States.
1847 - Frederick Douglass, an African American, begins publication of an abolitionist newspaper, The North Star.
1848
- The Leg I Left Behind Me (1848)
1848
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 2 February United States wins the Mexican War, acquiring over 500,000 square miles of territory in the Southwest.
1848
- Elizabeth M. Stanton, The Seneca Falls Declaration see also:
The
Seneca Falls Declaration 1848 [re: Women's Rights]
I
Am an Abolitionist, song by William Lloyd garrison
Zachary
Taylor's
Inaugural
address, 1849
Parkman,
Francis, The Oregon Trail, Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life, 1849
1849
- Letter from William Swain to Sabrina Swain, written on the Trail to
California, July 4
Benjamin
Drew, The Refugee: Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada Related by Themselves
1849 - 80,000 people rush to California after gold is discovered.
1849 - Harriet Tubman escapes from enslavement in Maryland, and becomes an active worker helping other enslaved individuals escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
1850
- Letter from William Swain to George Swain, written at "The Diggings"
in California, January 6
Frederick
Douglass, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, July 5
Excerpts
from "The Fugitive Slave Act" 1850 See also:
1850
- Fugitive Slave Act; 1850
From
the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, 1817-1895
The
opinions of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case
Compromise
of 1850 " It being desirable, for the peace, concord, and harmony of
the Union of these States, to settle and adjust amicably all existing questions
of controversy between them arising out of the institution of slavery upon a
fair, equitable and just basis: therefore..."
1850 - At a time when women always wore skirts, women's rights advocate Amelia Bloomer wears a garment of full trousers, which became known as the bloomer costume.
1850 -
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