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Royal Colony of New Jersey established by Queen Anne from separate provinces of East New Jersey and West New Jersey.
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The first regular newspaper publishes its initial edition in Boston, the News-Letter. It was begun by John Campbell, the postmaster.
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Britain and the British colonies switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar
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Final conflict in the ongoing struggle between the British and French for control of eastern North America. The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec.
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The British formally gain control of Canada and all the French possessions east of the Mississippi.
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British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests.
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Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax.
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First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams.
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American Revolution: War of independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war.
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Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
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Continental Congress approves the first official flag of the United States.
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Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution.
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Battle-weary and destitute Continental army spends brutally cold winter and following spring at Valley Forge, Pa.
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British general Charles Cornwallis surrenders to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va.
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Great Britain formally acknowledges American independence in the Treaty of Paris, which officially brings the war to a close.
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Shays's Rebellion erupts; farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay.
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Constitutional Convention, made up of delegates from 12 of the original 13 colonies, meets in Philadelphia to draft the U.S. Constitution.
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George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors
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First ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, are ratified.
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Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin greatly increases the demand for slave labor.
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John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia.
