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Slavery is ended in the Northwest Territory, stemming from the Ordinance of 1787 establishing the territory and written by Thomas Jefferson. Photo above right: President Thomas Jefferson.
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The first State of the Union address is given by first president George Washington.
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The Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the initial session.
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March 1, 1790 - Congress commissions the first U.S. census. When completed, it shows that 3,929,214 lived in the nascent democracy in 1790. The most populated state, Virginia, has 691,737. The center of population was 23 miles west of Baltimore, Maryla
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The first patent in the United States is issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins for imporved method of making potash.
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March 3, 1791 - The United States Congress passes a resolution to establish the U.S. Mint, which is created one year later. when the Coinage Act is passed on April 2.
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April 5, 1792 - The presidential veto is used for the first time when President Washington turns down a bill to apportion resprentation amongst the states.
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May 17, 1792 - The beginnings of the New York Stock Exchange is established with the signing of the Buttonwood agreement.
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November - 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
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February 12, 1793 - The United States Congress passes a federal law requiring the return of slaves that escaped from slave
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Dr. Benjamin Rush conferred with two Philadelphia doctors about an epidemic of disease along the docks of Philadelphia over the preceding two weeks. By November, over 10% of the population of the city had succumbed, nearly 5,000 people. The disease had
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September 18, 1793 - George Washington lays the cornerstone in the Capitol building, beginning the construction on the design by Dr. William Thornton.
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December 9, 1793 - The American Minerva, established by Noah Webster, becomes New York City's first daily newspaper.
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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
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September 1794 - 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 gove
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Jay's Treaty is signed between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Great Britain. This treaty tries to settle some of the lingering troubles stemming from the American Revolution.
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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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The United States purchases peace with Tunis and Algiers by supplying a frigate and over $800,000. 1796
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The University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, becomes the first operating state university in the United States, and the only public university to graduate students in the 18th century.
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December 7, 1796 - 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 goverment, in the U.S. president
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The Treaty of Tripoli, signifying peace between the United States and Tripoli, is signed at Algiers
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- John Adams succeeds George Washington as president of the United States.
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The United States begins to build up its navy with the launching of three ships. The U.S. frigate United States in Philadelphia on July 10, 1797; the Constellation in Baltimore on September 7; and the Constitution (old Ironsides) in Boston, September 20.
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The Territory of Mississippi is established from parts of Georgia and South Carolina, and alter expanded to included disputed territory of the United States and Spain.
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Thomas Jefferson, then Vice President of the United States, informs the American Philosophical Society of his invention of a new mouldboard for a plow.
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Congress voids all treaties with France on July 7, 1798, due to French raids on U.S. ships and a rejection of its diplomats, and orders the Navy to capture French armed ships. Eight-four French ships are captured by the U.S. Navy (with 45 ships) and priv
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The Alien and Sedition Acts making it a federal crime to publish malicious statements about the United States Government go into law.
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German-American Gottlieb Graupner settles in Boston and becomes the father of orchestral music in the United States. He would later organize the Philharmonic Society.
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February 1799 - The French warship L'Insurgente is captured by the U.S.S. Constellation. (Pic, below, by Hoff., 1883-1966) Napolean stops the French raids after becoming First Consul.
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March 29, 1799 - A law is passed to abolish slavery in the state of New York, effective twenty-eight year later, in 1827.
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The Natchez Trace post route, following an old trail running from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi, is established by an Act of Congress on April 23, 1800.
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April 24, 1800 - The United States Library of Congress is founded.
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U.S. President John Adams is the first President to live in the White House, then known as the Executive Mansion and sixteen days later, the United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C.
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- John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Thomas Jefferson is elected as the 3rd president of the United States in a vote of the House of Representatives after tying Aaron Burr in the electoral college with 73 electors.
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated for his first term as President of the United States, with Aaron Burr, his defeated opponent, as Vice President, as was the rule at the time.
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- The first edition of the New York Post is published.
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Lydia Child is born and would become a foremost author expounding the idea of an American abolitionist.
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West Point, New York is established. Four months later, the United States Military Academy opens on July 4.
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- War ends between Tripoli and Sweden, but continues with the United States, despite a negotiated peace, due to compensation disagreements.
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- Discussion to buy New Orleans begin when Monroe and Livingston sail to Paris, ending with the complete purchase of the Louisiana Purchase three months later.
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February 4, 1803 - The United States Supreme Court overturns its first U.S. law in the case of Marbury versus Madison, establishing the context of judicial review as they declared a statute within the Constitution void. This established the Supreme Court
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Ohio is admitted to the Union as the 17th U.S. state
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President Thomas Jefferson doubles the size of the United States of America with his purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon's France, thus paving way for the western expansion that would mark the entire history of the 19th century from Missour
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February 15, 1804 - New Jersey becomes the last northern state to abolish slavery.
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Ordered by Thomas Jefferson to map the Northwest United States, Lewis and Clark begin their expedition from St. Louis and Camp Dubois. The journey begins with navigation of the Missouri River.
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The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr, longtime political rivals, occurs in Weehawken, New Jersey, culminating in the death of Hamilton.
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- The attack on Sitka, Alaska by Russians and their allies in the Aleut community laid siege on a Tlingit Indian fort. One week later, the siege was complete with the driving out of Tlingit forces.
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American Marines and Berbers attack the Tripoli city of Derna. Land and naval forces would battle against Tripoli until peace was concluded with the United States on June 4, 1805.
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- Meriweather Lewis and four companions confirm their correct heading by sighting the Great Falls of the Missouri River, as the Lewis and Clark expedition continues west.
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The found of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Jr. is born
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March 23, 1806 - Explorers Lewis and Clark and the "Corps of Discovery" begin the several thousand mile trek back to St. Louis, Missouri from their winter camp near the Pacific Ocean.
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July 15, 1806 - A second exploratory expedition led by U.S. Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins from Fort Belle Fountaine near St. Louis begins to explore the west. Later that year, during a second trip, he reaches the distant Colorado foothills of the R
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The Lewis and Clark Expedition to map the northwest United States ended. Essential to the journey was Sacagawea, their female Indian guide.
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- Robert E. Lee is born. Would become a military officer, both with the U.S. Regular Army prior to the outbreak of Civil War, and afterwards, the American Confederate General.
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Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Alabama, charged with a scheme to annex parts of Louisiana and Mexico into an independent republic. Three months later, a grand jury indicts the former Vice President under the same charges.
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Congress passes an act that prohibits the importation of slaves into any port within the confines of the United States from any foreign land.
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Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason.
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January 1, 1808 - The importation of slaves was outlawed, although between 1808 and 1860, more than 250,000 slaves were illegally imported.
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- Anthracite coal is first burn, in an experiment, as fuel.
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- The American Fur Company is incorporated by John Jacob Astor.
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February 3, 1809 - The Illinois Territory is created.
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- The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the power of the Federal Government is greater than the power of any individual state.
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James Madison is inaugurated, succeeding Thomas Jefferson as President of the United States.
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The Pacific Fur Company is formed by John Jacob Astor
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Thirty-three employees of the Pacific Fur Company founded by John Jacob Astor embark on a six month journey around South America from New York Harbor. Arriving at the mouth of the Columbia River on the ship Tonquin, in present day Oregon, they found the
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December 1810. Ex-slave Tom Molineaux, born at a Virginia planation in 1784, fought English boxing champion Tom Cribb, narrowly defeated after 39 rounds when he collapsed from exhaustion. A rematch was held on September 28, 1811 with Crib retaining his
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American journalist, editor, and publisher, Horace Greeley, is born.
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- The first steam-powered ferry service between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey is started on John Steven's ship, the Juliana.
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At the battle of Tippecanoe, Indian warriors under the command of the Prophet are defeated by William Henry Harrison, the governor of Indiana.
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An earthquake near New Madrid, in the Mississippi Valley, reverses the course of the Mississippi River for a period of time. This quake was the first of two major earthquakes which preceded the largest quake ever in the United States two months later.
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- With an estimated magnitude of 8.3, the final New Madrid earthquake strikes near New Madrid, Missouri. This quake was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the continental United States, destroying one-half of the town of New Madrid. It was felt str
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- U.S. President James Madison asks Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom. Before the vote could be approved, on June 16, British ships raise a blockade against the United States.
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- Despite having a force three times the size of its British foe, Americans lose the Battle of Stoney Creek to a British army of 700 men under John Vincent.
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President James Madison defeats De Witt Clinton in the U.S. presidential election, securing a second term as the United States engages in the War of 1812 by an Electoral College margin of 128 votes to 89.
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- The Battle of York (Toronto, Canada) is held when American troops raid and destroy, but do not occupy the city.
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The Battle of Lake Erie is won by the American navy when Commodore Perry's fleet defeats the ships of British Captain Robert Barclay. This victory allows U.S. forces to take control of the majority of the Old Northwest and lake region.
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A United States victory at the Battle of Thames, Ontario allows American forces to break the Indian allies of the English and secure the frontier of Detroit. Native Indian leader Tecumseh of the Shawnee tribe is killed during this battle. The city direct
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- Settlement is opened in large parts of Alabama and Georgia after Andrew Jackson's militia from Tennessee defeat the Red Stick Creeks of Chief Menawa along the Tallapoosa River at Horseshoe Bend.
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The White House is burned by British forces upon the occupation of Washington during the War of 1812. This act, in retaliation for the destruction by U.S. troops of Canadian public buildings, causes President Madison to evacuate. The British advance wo
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The Battle of Lake Champlain was won by U.S. naval forces with the U.S.S. Ticonderoga leading the way.
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The Battle of Lake Champlain was won by U.S. naval forces with the U.S.S. Ticonderoga leading the way.
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The first American railroad charter is granted by the state of New Jersey to John Stephens
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- Piracy on the high seas by Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli is effectively ended by a flotilla from the United States.
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- American women's rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton in born.
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Caused by the Mount Tambora volcano erupted in 1815, the entire "Year without a Summer" occurs in the northern hemisphere due to global cooling.
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- The territory of Indiana is admitted into the United States of America as the 19th state.
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James Monroe (picture, bottom of the page) is inaugurated as the President of the United States, succeeding James Madison. His vice president, Daniel D. Tompkins, who would serve alongside Monroe for his entire eight years, was also inaugurated.
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The construction of the Erie Canal begins at Rome, New York. The first section between Rome and Utica, New York would be completed two years later. The canal would eventually connect the Atlantic Ocean, through the Hudson River, to the Great Lakes, with
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The United States of America admits its 20th state, Mississippi
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December 10, 1817 - The United States of America admits its 20th state, Mississippi
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April 28-29, 1817 - The Rush-Bagot treaty is signed. This would limit the amount of armaments allowed on the Great Lakes by British and American forces.
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Then northern boundary of the United States and Canada was established between the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. Its location from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains would be the 49th parallel.
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The Talmadge Amendment is passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, stating that slaves would be barred in the new state of Missouri, which becomes the opening vote in the Missouri Compromise controversy
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The territory of Florida is ceded to the United States by Spain.
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The American steamship Savannah, under part steam and sail-power, crosses the Atlantic Ocean from Savannah, Georgia to Liverpool, England, arriving 29 days later on June 20.
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- The first private military school in the United States, Norwich University, is founded by Captain Alden Partridge in Vermont.
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Free African American colonists, eighty-six in number, plus three American Colonization society members, leave the United States from New York City, and sail to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
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The Missouri Compromise bill, sponsored by Henry Clay, is passed in the United States Congress. This legislation allows slavery in the Missouri territory, but not in any other location west of the Misssissippi River that was north of 36 degrees 30 minut
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- To prove that a tomato is not poisonous, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson eats one in public in Salem, Massachusetts.
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The election of James Monroe to a second term in office comes with a landslide victory in the Electoral College with Monroe defeating John Quincy Adams by a tally of 231 to 1.
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Population in America continues to rise. The census of 1820 now includes 9,638,453 people living in the United States, 33% more than in 1810. The most populated state is New York, with 1,372,812 residents, of which 12,630 lived in the city of Albany, Ne