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First English settlement
The first permanent English settlement is founded in Jamestown, Virginia. -
First Enslaved Africans Arrive
The first enslaved Africans arrive in North America at Jamestown. -
Mayflower
The Mayflower pilgrims Pls establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Plymouth. -
American Literary Milestone
John Smith publishes "The General History of Virginia." -
John Smith
John Smith was an English soldier, explorer, and author of one of the earliest works of American Literature. He was called a boastful bully by some and an early American hero by others. -
First Public School
North America's first public school is founded in Boston. -
William Bradford
Long before there were holiday legends of Pilgrims and Indians, a group of English Puritans set off to create a new, pure society in the North American wilderness. Their leader was William Bradford. He was also a signatory to the Mayflower Compact while aboard the Mayflower in 1620. -
Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet was the first notable American poet, man or woman. She was also a prominent Puritan figure in American Literature. -
Puritans' Victory
The Puritans' victory in King Philip's War ends Native American resistance in New England colonies. -
Salem Witch Trials
Witch Trials take place in Salem, Massachusetts. -
First American Newspaper
The Boston Newsletter, the first American newspaper, is established. -
Edward Taylor
For over 200 years, the work of Edward Taylor, one of colonial America's most inventive poets, remained unread. His poetry did not come to light until the 1930s when his long-forgotten manuscripts were discovered in the Yale University Library. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. In 1800 he was elected the third President of the U.S. -
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams. She was the second First Lady of the United States. -
Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards was a revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. When Jonathan delivered a sermon, with its fiery descriptions of hell and eternal damnation, people listened. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party marks a violent rejection of Britain's taxation policies. The Revolutionary War begins two years later. -
Independence Day
American colonies declare independence. -
Defeat at Yorktown
The British defeat at Yorktown ends the American Revolution. -
Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley was the first published African-American female poet. -
U.S. Constitution
U.S. Constitution is ratified. -
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano was a prominent African in London, a freed slave who supported the British movement to end the slave trade. Writing as a former slave in the 1700s, Equiano left powerful testimony on the brutality of enslavement that became the model for a new genre, the slave narrative -
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia.
