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Jethro Tull invents the seed drill.
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New France signs Great Peace of Montreal with 39 First Nations.
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An Act for Liberty to Erect a Collegiate School in Saybrook is passed by the Colony of Connecticut. It would become Yale University.
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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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Siege of St. Augustine, one of the first conflicts of Queen Anne's War, the second of four French and Indian Wars between New France and the English colonists, this time including New Spain on the side of France.
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The first of the annual Mardi Gras celebrations begins in Mobile, capital of the New France colony in Louisiana.
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During Queen Anne's War, Deerfield, Massachusetts is attacked by French and Indian forces with fifty-six killed and over one hundred captured and carried off.
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Kingdom of Great Britain established with Queen Anne as first monarch.
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Bartolomeo Cristofori invents the piano.
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The Tuscarora War begins in North Carolina between tribe of the Southern Tuscarora and their allies against the English and German colonists.
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Thomas Newcomen patents the atmospheric steam engine.
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New York slave revolt results in six suicides and twenty-one executions.
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The Queen Anne's War ends with the French signing a treaty in the series of Treaties of Utrecht to give Nova Scotia to the British.
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Great Snow of 1717 begins and blankets the colonies of Virginia and New England with up to five feet of snow.
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The English pirate Blackbeard is killed off the coast of Ocracoke Island in North Carolina by the crew of Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS.
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The Villasur expedition of Spanish troops leaves Mexico on a mission to control the increasing presence of the French in the Great Plains. It would end with a defeat by the Pawnee on August 14 near the Loup and Platte Rivers, near Columbus, Nebraska.
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British Troops begin a nine day siege on the French fort, Port Royal in Nova Scotia, before capturing it for the crown in the Queen-Anne's War 1701-1713.
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Adrien de Pauger arrives in New Orleans to design plans for the city and French Quarter throughout the year.
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French C. Hopffer patents the fire extinguisher.
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Declaration of war occurs in Dummer's War after skirmishes earlier in the year between New England colonists and the Wabanaki Confederacy, backed by New France. Lasted three years until December 15, 1725.
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Gabriel Fahrenheit invents the first mercury thermometer.
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Battle of Pequawket in Dummer's War leads to peace treaties between the colonies of New England and the Indian allies of New France in 1725-7.
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The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Sir Isaac Newton is translated into English for the first time.
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Public lecture in Boston by Jonathan Edwards, later published as "God Glorified in the Work of Redemption, by the Greatness of Man's Dependence upon Him, in the Whole of It," leads to the movement of the First Great Awakening.
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George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
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Poor Richard's Almanac is published for the first of its twenty-six annual editions by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. It would sell as many as 10,000 copies per year.
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John Kay invents the flying shuttle
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House of Commons in the English Parliament agrees with James Oglethorpe to ban slavery in the Province of Georgia. Ban would last for sixteen years.
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Freedom of the Press became recognized in New York after the trial of John Peter Zenger, who had been accused of libeling the British Government in his Weekly Journal. Zenger was acquitted on that date.
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Twenty-nine years after the first revolt of slaves in New York, a second uprising occurs. Seventeen slaves were hanged after the revolt, thirteen burned, and seventy deported.
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Fort Frederica and Fort St. Simons attacked by Spanish in the Battle of Bloody Marsh, during the Invasion of the Province of Georgia.
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First battle of King George's War begins with raid by New French against the British port of Canso. Four year conflict against northern British colonies takes heavy toll after battles in Maine and Fort Louisbourg in New France.
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French raid Saratoga, New York, and follow that up with the August 19-20 attack on Fort Massachusetts in two of the New France raids deep into the Massachusetts Bay Colony during King George's War.
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The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed, ending King George's War between France, Great Britain, and their Indian allies in New England and Nova Scotia.
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Thomas Walker leads expedition into the frontier of Kentucky and discovers the Cumberland Gap.
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British Parliament enacts the Iron Act to protect their iron forges from American competition and control the iron trade in the colonies.
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British Parliament passes the Currency Act to control the use of paper money in the New England colonies and plantations.
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Benjamin Franklin invents the lightening rod.
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Albany Congress held between representatives of the colonies to discuss mutual defense and a treaty of alliance with the Six Nation tribes as tensions between British and French increase.
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Battle of Fort Necessity occurs in southwestern Pennsylvania in a small fort built for supplies. That battle of the French and Indian War ends in a peace document, allowing Washington's withdrawal and surrender of the fort.
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Samuel Johnson publishes the first English language dictionary on April 15th after nine years of writing. In the preface Samuel Johnson wrote, "I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven."
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John Campbell invents the sextant.
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French capture Fort William Henry (New York) after a six day siege. This is the battle described in James Fenimore Cooper's book, the Last of the Mohicans.
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George Washington and his troops attack Fort Duquesne, an initial action of the French and Indian War between the English and French which began when French forces built and occupied Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh and did not heed warnings to leave Virginia territory.
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First battle at Fort Ticonderoga known as the Battle of Fort Carillon begins. British are defeated, but succeed during second battle one year later on July 26, 1759 in the French and Indian War.
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France cedes Louisiana to Spain. This started a contentious period of thirty-eight years of Spanish rule before Spain returned Louisiana back to France.
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French and Indian War ends with peace treaty that cedes Canada and the American midwest to English. This signals and effectively tightens the control of Great Britain's colonial administration of North America.
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King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, limiting the westward expansion of the American colonies.
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James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny.
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The Sugar Act places a duty on various commodities, including lumber, food, molasses, and rum in the British colonies.
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British Parliament passes the Stamp Act regulations to pay for British troops in the American colonies and cover debts incurred in the French and Indian War.
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Stamp Act is repealed.
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Joseph Priestley invents carbonated water - soda water.
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The Boston Massacre occurs when British troops fire into a Boston mob, who were demonstrating against British troops at the customs commission. The first to fall was Crispus Attucks, a fugitive slave and merchant seaman near the front, followed by four other men amongst the forty-fifty patriots. This event was later credited as the first battle in the American Revolution, which began five years later, and was used as an incident to further the colonists cause of rebellion.
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The Townshend Acts, duties on goods such as lead, paper, glass and tea enacted three years earlier, were repealed by British parliament, except for that on tea, thus continuing to raise opposition in America. British Prime Minister Lord North, as well as parliament, maintained the tea tax, in order to show their supremacy.
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William Clark, explorer noted for his Lewis and Clark Expedition, and later Governor of the Missouri Territory and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, is born.
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Imports to America from England totaled 4,200,000 pounds for the year.
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The first independent Anglo-American government is founded by the Watauga Association in East Tennessee, a group of settlers needing mutual protection along the Watauga River. The written agreement allowed for a five man court to act as the government. Also is 1772, the Wataugans would negotiate a ten year lease with the Cherokee for land along the river.
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Samuel Adams organizes the Committee of Correspondence, a forerunner of the union of American colonies, that begins the American Revolution. The meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, Boston, and later repeated throughout the American colonies.
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Benjamin Franklin writes and publishes a satirical essay in The Public Advertiser called Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One.
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When the English East India Company sought financial assistance, England allows the company to ship surplus tea to America at low cost. This rankled the American colonists, who resented the implementation of a single company controlling the tea trade, as well as the right of the British government to tax the colonies without their consent. Meeting at the Old South Meeting House, Bostonians led by Josiah Quincy and Samuel Adams discussed the new British tax on tea.
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The Intolerable Acts, including the reestablishment of the Quartering Act, requiring colonists allow British soldiers into their homes, and the curtailment of Massachusetts self-rule, are enacted by the British government. Later led to the 3rd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the U.S. Army from doing the same.
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The First Continental Congress is held in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, protesting the Intolerable Acts. The Congress, attended by all American colonies except Georgia, petitioned King George to stop the new regulations on Massachusetts, and called for civil disobedience and boycotts of British wares by the American Association. No concessions were made by the King or English parliament.
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By the end of January 1775, there were 37 newspapers being printed in the American colonies. Seven newspapers were published in Massachusetts; one in New Hampshire; two in Rhode Island; and four in Connecticut. Three papers were published in New York City, with one additional New York paper published in Albany. Nine were published in Pennsylvania; two in Maryland; two in Virginia (both at Williamsburg); two in North Carolina; three in South Carolina, and one in Georgia.
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Friedrich von Steuben of the Prussian Army meets with the Continental Congress in York, Pennsylvania. They direct him to join General George Washington at the winter encampment at Valley Forge to drill the Continental Army into an effective fighting unit while the British retain control of Philadelphia, only twenty miles away. South Carolina also becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
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Patrick Henry addresses the Virginia House of Burgesses in St. John’s Church in Richmond, where he decreed, “Give me Liberty or Give me Death.” His speech is often credited with convincing Virginia to permit Virginia troops to enter the Revolutionary War. The crowd reacted to Henry’s speech with fervent cries, “To Arms! To Arms!”
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The Continental Congress appoints George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, sending him to Boston with the task to take charge of the ragtag militia there.
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Thomas Paine, an English writer, publishes his pamphlet "Common Sense," touting the ability and right of America to create a democratic and free nation, winning public support for the cause of American independence from Britain with the sale of hundreds of thousands of copies. Thomas Jefferson received a copy of "Common Sense" at his home Monticello, whose sentiments pleased him, and the course for independence and the Declaration to follow began.
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The Declaration of Independence, from the pen of Thomas Jefferson and his committee, is approved in the Second Continental Congress of the United States of America, held in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was influenced by many writers, including John Locke, and was emboldened by the notion that man had the natural right to change or overthrow the government that denied their rights. Four days later, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed publicly for the first time.
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In the world’s first submarine attack, the American submersible ship Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the flagship of British Admiral Richard Howe’s ship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor.
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At McKonkey's Ferry, General Washington and his 2,400 troops cross the Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey on Christmas Day from 4 p.m. until 4 a.m. the next morning and defeats 1,400 Hessians in the 1st Battle of Trenton, capturing 900 men.
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General Washington and the 7,000 man Continental Army defeats British General Charles Cornwallis at Princeton, New Jersey. This battle, combined with that of Trenton one week earlier, impressed upon other European nations that the Americans could combat the British Army.
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The Continental Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes as the national flag. It would later fly on the battlefield for the first time on September 3rd at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware.
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The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union are adopted by the Continental Congress in Independence Hall. It serves as the first constitution of the United States.
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After failing victory in the battles of Brandywine, Battle of the Clouds, Paoli, and Germantown, and in response to the British capture of Philadelphia, George Washington marches his 11,000 man Continental Army into Valley Forge for the first winter encampment.
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France signs the treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States, officially recognizing the new nation, and sends Pierre L’Enfant to be captain of engineers at Valley Forge. Later, L’Enfant would be commissioned to design the capital city of the United States, Washington, D.C.
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The first battle of Savannah, Georgia is lost to the British.
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Although currently a successful American general, Benedict Arnold is court-marshaled for civil authority disputes. His sentence, however, was a light reprimand by General Washington. Mad about the court-marshal and the new American alliance with France, Arnold became a traitor against the American cause when he plotted to transfer the fort at West Point, New York, for 20,000 sterling (approximately $1,000,000 today) that would effectively give control of the Hudson River to British forces.
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General Washington arrives at Morristown, New Jersey, where the Continental Army camps during the 1779-1780 winter of the Revolutionary War.
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Nashville, Tennessee is founded by James Robertson as Fort Nashborough.
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Prompted by poor vision both near and far, and tired of putting his glasses on and off, Benjamin Franklin invents bi-focals. It is unknown exactly when this occurred, with Franklin admitting to friends that he had been wearing double spectacles in 1784.
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At Cowpens, South Carolina, Brigadier General Daniel Morgan with his band of Patriot militia defeat the large force of British regulars under Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton. This engagement in the southern sphere of the American Revolution provided a key victory for American forces.
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General George Washington and Rochambeau join forces near Williamsburg. Two weeks later, on October 6, they begin the siege of Cornwall at Yorktown. At the time, English troops numbered 6,000, American troops 8,846, and French troops 7,800. On October 19, British forces under Lord Cornwall surrender to Washington’s American forces and their French allies at Yorktown, Virginia. This would be the last major military battle on American soil of the American Revolution.
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The Bald Eagle is adopted by Congress as the national bird.
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Congress ratifies the preliminary peace treaty, ending the Revolutionary War.
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Congress ratifies the final peace treaty between Great Britain and the United States, ending the conflict that would give America its freedom.
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The United States adopts a decimal coinage system, with the dollar overwhelmingly selected as the monetary unit, the first time any nation has done so.
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American frontiersman David "Davy" Crockett is born.
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A compromise during the Constitutional Convention proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut solves the problem of the amount of votes each state would receive in Congress. A bicameral legislature would be enacted, with equal votes for the Senate and proportional representation based on population in the House of Representatives.
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States of the United States continue to ratify the U.S. Constitution when Georgia becomes the 4th state to do so.
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George Washington is elected unanimously by the Electoral College as the 1st President of the United States. The 1st Congress meets in Federal Hall, New York City, for the first time on March 4, with regular sessions beginning two months later on April 6. Frederick A. Muhlenberg becomes the first Speaker of the newly formed House of Representatives.
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George Washington, as President, approves the Residence Bill, legislation that authorizes the buying of land along the Potomac River for federal buildings and parks, creating the District of Columbia.
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The first patent in the United States is issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins for improved method of making potash.
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Vermont is added as the 14th State. Carved from portions of New York and New Hampshire, and first known as New Connecticut, Vermont spent fourteen years as an independent republic before joining the Union.
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In Philadelphia's Congress Hall, the Bill of Rights, which constitutes the first ten amendments to the Constitution, takes effect. Two of the original twelve amendments do not pass.
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The presidential veto is used for the first time when President Washington turns down a bill to apportion representation amongst the states.
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George Washington, a Federalist, is reelected president of the United States with no opposition, with John Adams elected Vice President. The Federalists, who believed in a strong central government, outnumbered the other political party at the time, the Democrat-Republicans, who decided against a political fight due to Washington's popularity. Washington had considered not seeking a second term, but decided to serve again, in some part due to trying to stem the tide of political parties.
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George Washington signs the Proclamation of Neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars, where France has already declared war on England, the Netherlands, Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia.
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The American Minerva, established by Noah Webster, becomes New York City's first daily newspaper.
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Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, which could do the work of fifty men when cleaning cotton by hand.
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The Whiskey Rebellion occurs when western Pennsylvania farmers in the Monongahela Valley, upset over the liquor tax passed in 1791, are suppressed by 15,000 militia sent by Alexander Hamilton to establish the authority of the federal government to uphold its laws.
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The Treaty of Madrid is signed, establishing the boundaries between the Spanish Colonies and the United States.
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Tennessee is admitted into the Union as the 16th state.
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The U.S. Electoral College meets to elect Federalist John Adams as president. John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson, of the Democrat Republican party, whose platform included the notion of a weak central government, in the U.S. presidential election. Political parties came into prominence with this election after the retirement of George Washington. Electors who chose the president were chosen by the states, using various methods, including the popular vote or by state legislators.
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The Treaty of Tripoli, signifying peace between the United States and Tripoli, is signed at Algiers.
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Joseph Henry, an American scientist is born. He would serve as the first president of the Smithsonian Institution and is credited with discoveries in the field of electro magnets.
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Congress voids all treaties with France due to French raids on U.S. ships and a rejection of its diplomats, and orders the Navy to capture French armed ships. Eighty-four French ships are captured by the U.S. Navy (with 45 ships) and private ships (365).
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The Alien and Sedition Acts, four bills that included making it a federal crime to publish malicious statements about the United States Government, plus powers of the President to control immigration and imprison and deport aliens who opposed the government, go into law.
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The American System of Manufacturing is invented by Eli Whitney, who uses semi-skilled labor, machine tools, and jigs to make standardized, interchangeable parts, then an assembly line of labor. Whitney first used the system to manufacture 10,000 muskets for the U.S. Government in a two year contract let in 1798, but took eight years to fulfill. Some contend that Whitney did not invent this method, but just promoted it.
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The first printed ballots in the United States are printed in Pennsylvania.
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The United States passes the 11th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the subject of each state's sovereign immunity.