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The British and British colonies turn to the Gregorian calendar.
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The final confrontation in the continuing British-French struggle to control eastern North America. A decisive win over the French on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec was won by the British.
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The British formally obtained control of Canada and all the French possessions east of the Mississippi with the Treaty of Paris.
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British soldiers fire on a crowd, killing five men which led to heavy street protests.
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On the Boston harbor, a party of colonial patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians board three ships and throw over 300 tea crates overboard to protest the British tea levy.
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In Philadelphia, the First Continental Congress met, with 56 delegates from every colony, except Georgia.
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The War of Independence was undertaken on the eastern seaboard of North America between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies. The fighting began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen.
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The Declaration of Independence was ratified in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress.
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The first official flag of the United States was authorized by the Continental Congress.
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The Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution, was ratified by the Continental Congress.
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The battle-weary and destitute Continental Army survives a bitterly cold winter and Spring at Valley Forge, Pa.
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At Yorktown, Va., British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Gen. George Washington.
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In the Treaty of Paris, which finally puts the war to a close, Great Britain formally accepts American independence.
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The uprising of Shays Rebellion erupts; farmers take up arms from New Hampshire to South Carolina to oppose heavy state taxes and strict fines for failing to pay.
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The Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia to draft the U.S. Constitution, made up of delegates from 12 of the original 13 colonies.
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In a poll of state electors, George Washington was overwhelmingly voted president of the United States.
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The U.S. Constitution goes into effect after nine states have ratified it.
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At Federal Hall in New York City, Washington was inaugurated as president.
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The first census of the country reveals that the population has climbed to almost 4 million.
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The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, have been ratified.
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The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney dramatically expanded the need for slave labor.
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John Adams is inaugurated in Philadelphia as the second president.
