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First Continental Congress Meeting
First continental congress meets in Philadelphia.There was 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams. -
The American Revolution
American Revolution: War of independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern coast of North America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war. -
Declaration of independence
The declaration of independence was a letter from America to Britain Declaring their independence.It was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson.John Hancock was the first person to sign it. -
Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation
The Second Continental Congress chose three committees in response to the Lee Resolution proposing independence for the American colonies. One of these committees, created to determine the form of a confederation of the colonies, was composed of one representative from each colony. -
Treaty of Paris establishes American independence
This treaty, sent to Congress by the American negotiators John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, formally ended the Revolutionary War. It was one of the most advantageous treaties ever negotiated for the United States. -
Shays Rebellion
AN armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. -
Supreme Court meets for the first time
The Judiciary Act of 1789 is passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, establishing the Supreme Court of the United States as a tribunal made up of six justices who were to serve on the court until death or retirement. That day, President Washington nominated John Jay to preside as chief justice, and John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson to be associate justices. On September 26, all six appointments were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. -
George Washington becomes president
George Washington, as the first president, was well aware of the great responsibility of defining the American presidency.Washington believed that the precedents he set must make the presidency powerful enough to function effectively in the national government, but at the same time these practices could not show any tendency toward monarchy or dictatorship. -
Bill of Rights passed by Congress
Fresh in Americans minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolutionary War, so they demanded a bill of rights that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions, in their formal ratification of the Constitution, asked for such amendments. -
John Adams becomes president
John Adams (1735-1826) was a leader of the American Revolution and served as the second U.S. president from 1797 to 1801. -
Thomas Jefferson becomes president
In our national elections, electoral voters decide separately to fill the position of president and vice president, but that wasn't always the case. On February 17, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected president of the United States, but there was more to it than beating his opponent. -
Lewis and Clark
The detailed journals kept by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the leaders of expedition.In the spring of 1804, Lewis, Clark, and dozens of other men left St. Louis, Missouri, by boat. They traveled westward through what is now Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. -
James Madison becomes the fourth president
James Madison is most famous for his work on the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He was also president during the War of 1812. James grew up on a tobacco farm in the Colony of Virginia. -
War of 1812
In the War of 1812, the United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, in a conflict that would have an immense impact on the young country’s future. Causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen and America’s desire to expand its territory. -
Treaty of Ghent
James Madison is most famous for his work on the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He was also president during the War of 1812. James grew up on a tobacco farm in the Colony of Virginia. -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
He was elected president of the United States on a platform opposing the expansion of slavery to the American West, a stance that precipitated the secession of the southern states from the Union. Refusing to accept secession, Lincoln waged war against the South to preserve the Union and ultimately to abolish slavery in the United States. -
Southern states secede from the Union
This document is a one-page handwritten copy of the Ordinance of Secession passed by the members of the Florida Convention of the People (commonly referred to as the Secession Convention). -
first major battle of the American Civil War
Named for the creek or “run” in northern Virginia along which the fighting took place, Bull Run was the first major battle of the American Civil War. After halting several attacks ordered by Union commander General Irvin McDowell, the Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard launched a successful counterattack that drove the tired and inexperienced Union forces back toward Washington. -
Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
Initially, the Civil War between the North and the South was fought by the North to prevent the secession of the South and preserve the Union. Ending slavery was not a goal. That changed on September 22, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that slaves in those states or parts of states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be free -
Battle of Gettysburg
Gettysburg had the largest number of casualties of any battle in the Civil War, with about 23,000 killed, wounded, and captured or missing on each side. The battle was a defeat for the Confederacy, as it forced Lee to break off his invasion of the North and retreat back into Virginia. -
Thirteenth Amendment adopted
The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -
Transcontinental Railroad completed
The Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad, responsibility for completing the transcontinental railroad and authorized extensive land grants and the issuance of 30-year government bonds to finance the undertaking. The Union Pacific was to lay track westward from a point near Omaha, Nebraska; the Central Pacific. -
The Spanish American War
The Spanish-American War ended Spain’s colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power. U.S. victory in the war produced a peace treaty that compelled the Spanish to relinquish claims on Cuba, and to cede sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States.