Timeline: Civics timeline

Apr 19, 1775

Shot Heard Round the World

The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington Concord in Massachusetts

Sep 3, 1783

Treaty of Paris

Official end of the Revolutionary War

Period: May 25, 1787 to Sep 17, 1787

Articles of Confederation

The United States' first constitution which created a single-house Congress with limited authority. Provided a weak federal government.

Period: May 25, 1787 to Sep 25, 1787

The Constitutional Convention

Delegates met in Philadelphia to try to revise the Articles of Confederation into a more effective government. Delegates decided to discard the Articles of Confederation and start over to create a stronger federal government

Sep 17, 1787

U.S. constitution signed

The signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 by 55 delegates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after weeks of planning, negotiations, and compromise.

Jun 21, 1788

U.S. Constitution is Ratified

The US Constitution was approved by 9 of the states and therefore becames the law of the land.

Sep 11, 2001

Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.

19 terrorists from the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked 4 commercial airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. The coordinated attacks killed 2,977 people and caused billions of dollars in damage