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House of Burgessess Passes its First Comprehensive Slave Code
Slave owners could not be convicted for killing a slave and black Virginians who struck white colonists would be severely whipped. -
Reverend Francis Le Jau
Arrives as a missionary in Charles Town and is disillusioned by the horrors of slavery. -
New England Ministers Publish Early Piety
This was a collection of sermons whose preface was written by Increase Mather asking settlers to remember why their ancestors came to America that led to the Great Awakening. -
Slave Rebellion in New York
A rebellion resulted in the death of 9 white colonists. Retribution would see 21 executed, and 6 committed suicide. -
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The Yamasee War
War between Native American tribes and the settlers of colonial South Carolina. Their first victims were traders. They killed the emissaries sent by the colony and many English traders. -
Benjamin Franklin Arrives in Philadelphia
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William Parks Sets Up His Printing Shop
The shop in Annapolis brought a stable local trade in printing and books to the Chesapeake. -
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The Great Awakening
Protestant revivals crisscrossed the Atlantic founding a participatory religious movement. -
First Signs of Religious Revival in Massachusetts
Puritan Jonathan Edwards preached against worldly sins and inspired his congregation to look for God's saving grace. His congregation went into violent convulsions during the winter. -
The Walking Purchase
Native Delaware leaders agreed to sell Pennsylvania all land that a man could walk in a day and a half but planning and hiring of skilled runners enabled them to purchase more land than intended and caused ill feelings. -
Stono Rebellion
Approximately 80 slaves set out for Spanish Florida under a banner stating "Liberty" and killed approximately 20 colonists during their march. -
South Carolina Passes New Slave Law
Killing rebellious slaves was not a crime and murder of a slave was a minor misdemeanor. -
New York Slave Revolt
Another rebellion in New York was foiled executing 32 slaves, free blacks, and 5 free whites. 70 slaves were deported. -
Connecticut Preacher Exhibits Extremeism
James Davenport led his congregation to be saved by dancing naked in circles at night while screaming and laughing, or burning books he disapproved of. -
Currency Act of 1751
The First of the Currency Acts that prohibited the issue of new bills of credit by New England colonies. -
The Beginning of the Seven Years' War
France and Britain's feud over boundaries came to a head when a French diplomat was killed by a group of Native Americans and British colonists led by George Washington. -
The Albany Plan of Union
The scholar and businessman suggested a plan to unify the government of the 13 colonies. -
The Seven Years' War Reaches Europe
British-allied Frederick II of Prussia invades neutral Saxony causing a coalition to form including France, Austria, Russia, and Sweden who attacked Prussia and the German stated allied with them. -
Fort William Henry Massacre
One of the French's early victories in The Seven Years' War. The Indians attacked the fallen British after the Fort was taken by the French. -
The Siege of Louisbourg
Pivotal conflict in the Seven Years' War. -
Battle of Ticonderoga
The French thwarted the attack by General Abercrombie at Ticonderoga in the Battle of Carillon. -
Annus Mirabilis
1759 was considered by the British to be the year of miracles bringing about the fall of French Canada. -
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
British general James Wolfe defeated French general Louis-Jseph de Montcalm outside of Quebec City. -
The Seven Years' War Ends in North America
War ended with the surrender of Montreal. -
King George III Takes the Throne
He brought Tories into his government after 3 decades of Whig rule. -
Neolin Has a Vision
A prophet receives a vision from the Master of Life instructing him to lead his people away from British influence and banish them from their land. -
Spain Enters The Seven Years' War
The Anglo-Spanish War was part of the Seven Years' War that ended in February of with the Treaty of Paris. -
End of The Seven Years' War
The peace treaties of Paris and Hubertusburg ended the war giving the British much of Canada and North America. The Prussians retained Silesia -
Ottawa Plan Attack on Fort Detroit
Pontiac and 300 warriors were unsuccessful in attacking Fort Detroit resulting in a 6-month siege of the fort. -
Ottawas and Ojibwes Capture Fort Michilimackinac
This coalition staged a game of stickball outside the fort chasing the ball into the fort and gathering arms smuggled in by Native American women. They killed almost half of the fort's British soldiers. -
Pontiac's War
Ottawa leader, Pontiac, leads warriors from Native American tribes in rising up against the British. Many British forts are attacked. -
Currency Act of 1764
Second currency act passed by British Parliament to regulate the issue and legal tender status of paper money in the colonial economy. -
Royal Proclamation of 1763
Created the proclamation line marking the Appalachian Mountains as the boundary between Indian country and British colonies. -
Sugar Act of 1764
Also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act sought to combat widespread smuggling of molasses in New England by cutting the duty in half and increasing enforcement. -
House of Burgesses Passes and Anti-Stamp Act Resolution
The Virginia Resolves passed declaring that colonists were entitled the same things as the people of Great Britain. Patrick Henry made a speech before the House to encourage the passage. -
Stamp Act Congress Comes Together
Colonial leaders come together to oppose taxes imposed by Parliament and boycott British goods. The delegates were from 9 colonies and included Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, Thomas Hutchinson, Philip Livingston, and James Otis. -
Parliament Repeals the Stamp Act but Passes the Declaratory Act
Giving Parliament full power over the colonies. -
Pontiac Meets with William Johnson Ending Pontiac's War
Disease and a shortage of supplies undermined the Native American efforts. Pontiac settled for peace at Fort Ontario. -
The Townshend Acts are Passed
Creating new customs duties on items such as lead, glass, paint, and tea. -
The Birth of Andrew Jackson
On the border of North and South Carolina to immigrants from northern Ireland. -
Britain Sends Regiments to Boston
British troops arrived in the city of Boston and occupied the city. Tensions led to the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. -
Parliament Repeals the Townshend Acts
Parliament under Frederick Lord North repealed the Townshend duties except for those on tea. This was to save face and assert that Parliament still retained the right to tax the colonies. -
The Boston Massacre
British soldiers respond to a riot outside a custom house killing 5 Bostonians. -
Parliament Passes Two Acts to Aid the East India Company
The Regulating Act put the company under government control and The Tea Act allowed the company to sell its tea in the colonies directly without the usual import duties. -
The Boston Tea Party
Bostonians emptied the tea from 3 ships in the harbor into the water to prevent the West Indian Company from bring their tea ashore. -
Committees of Correspondence in All Colonies but Georgia
Extralegal assemblies that seized the power of the royal governments. -
Committees of Correspondence Sends Delegates to Continental Congress
Committees of Correspondence sent delegates to coordinate an intercolonial response. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
British regiments attempting to seize local militia arms and powder were met by colonial resistance. Shots were fired beginning war. -
The Continental Congress Meets for a Second Time
War had already broken out in Massachusetts. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Colonial militia set up fortifications on Breed's Hill overlooking Boston where the British attempted an assault. -
Olive Branch Petition
Final attempt by the colonists to avoid going to war with Britain -
Proclamation of Virginia
Signed by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore that promised freedom to any slaves who would escape their masters and join the British cause. -
Robert Bell Issues Hundreds of Thousands of Copies of Common Sense
The Philadelphia Printer released many copies of Thomas Paine's document. -
The May 15th Resolution
Congress passed a resolution recommending to the several assemblies and conventions to institute such forms of government as to them shall appear necessary to promote the happiness of the people. -
Official Declaration of Independence
Congress passes Richard Henry Lee's statement that the United Colonies should be free, independent states completely separated from Great Britain. -
Congress Approves Drafted Declaration of Independence Document
Final text of the Declaration was approved on July 4. -
Virginia Includes Abolition in Constitution
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British General Burgoyne Surrenders to the Continental Army
Intending to secure the Hudson River, the Continental Army defeated Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York. -
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
First of two treaties between the U.S. and France recognizing the independence of the United States. -
Constitutional Convention in Cambridge
312 town delegates gathered in Massachusetts debating constitution drafts and offering suggestions. -
Battle of Fairfield
British landing force under the command of General William Tryon attacked the town, engaged and defeated its militia forces burning the town. -
Pennsylvania Passes an Emancipation Act
Stipulated that freed children must serve an indenture term of twenty-eight years initiating a gradual phasing out of slavery. -
Voters Approve the Massachusetts' Constitution
Principally authored by John Adams, organized into a structure of chapters, sections, and articles influencing later revisions of many states' constitutions. -
Articles of Confederation are Ratified
Allowed each state one vote in the Continental Congress. Congress was given no power to levy or collect taxes, regulate foreign or interstate commerce, or establish a federal judiciary. Continental Congress adopted the Articles November 15, 1777 but all 13 states did not ratify until 1781. -
Official End to the American Revolutionary War
Peace negotiations took place in France. The Treaty of Paris was signed bringing an official end to the Revolutionary War. -
The Methodist Episcopal Church Breaks with the Church of England
They formed a new American denomination utilizing circuit riders. -
Thomas Jefferson Publishes his Notes on the State of Virginia
Jefferson proposed that black people were of inferior intelligence unable to improve and suggested that they had a different ancestry. -
First Bales of American Cotton Arrive in Europe
Liverpool firm, Peel, Yates, & Co. brought the 1st 7 bales of cotton from America to Europe -
James Madison Proposes Statute for Religious Freedom in Virginia
Jefferson had proposed this in 1779 but failed. Madison revisited and it passed defeating a bill that would have given equal revenue to all Protestant churches. -
Beginning of Shay's Rebellion
Farmers in Massachusetts took up arms to protect their rights and demanding redress for the people's grievances in the "Spirit of 1776". -
Dirty Compromise
New England and the Deep South agreed at the Constitutional Convention to protect foreign trade for 20 years but South Carolina and Georgia delegates had to support making it easier for Congress to pass commercial legislation. -
Article VI of the Northwest Ordinance Bans Slavery
North and West of the Ohio River -
Samuel Stanhope Smith Publishes Essay on the Causes of the Variety of Compexion and Figure in the Human Species
Further articulated the theory of racial change and suggested that improving the social environment would tap into the innate equality of humankind uplifting non-white races. -
Delegates Convene to Revise the Articles of Confederation
12 state delegates convened in Philadelphia. All but Rhode Island. -
Massachusetts Ratifies Its Constitution
The vote carries 187 to 168 -
Virginia Ratifies Its Constitution
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Rhode Island Textile Mill Contracts British Immigrant
Pawtucket textile mill engages Samuel Slater to build a yarn spinning maching and a carding machine from British plans. -
George Washington Takes Presidential Oath
Thousands gathered in New York to witness. -
South Carolina LIfts Religious Restriction on Officeholders
South Carolina revised its constitution removing the establishment clause. -
Bill of Rights Added to the Constitution
Ten amendments produced by the anti-federalist debates -
Alexander Hamilton Proposes Federal Excise Tax
On the production, sale, and consumption of goods to include whiskey. This sparked the Whiskey Rebellion that would last until 1794. -
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Ratified
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 agreed that the national government should not have an official religion. The First Amendment guaranteed religious liberty. -
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The Haitian Revolution
Successful slave revolt against French colonial rule in the West Indies. -
Charter Approved for the Bank of the United States
20 year charter approved by Congress -
Admission of Vermont to the Union as a Free State
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Tax Collector Attacked in Western Pennsylvania
16 men dressed in women's clothes assaulted tax collector, Robert Johnson stealing his horse and abandoning him in the forest. -
Henry Moss Develops White Spots
A slave in Virginia became famous when white spots appeared on his body turning him visibly white within 3 years. -
Kentucky Admitted to the Union as a Slave State
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New French Ambassador Arrives in the U.S.
"Citizen" Edmond-Charles Genet arrived and toured many cities encouraging Americans to act against Spain by attacking its colonies in Florida and Louisiana. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
The 1st of 2 slave acts which authorized local governments to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners and impose penalties on anyone aiding in their flight. -
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Confederacy of Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, Iroquois, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Huron, Potawatomi, Mingo, Chickamauga and others who were waging war against the American Republicans were defeated. -
Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin
Machine for deseeding cotton -
John Jay Negotiates Treaty with Great Britain
President Washington had declared in 1793 that the U.S. would remain neutral in the British-French War. "Jay's Treaty" ended military presence in the Northwest Territory of the U.S.by 1796, but failed to end impressment. -
Treaty of Greenville
Formerly the /treaty with the Wyadots was between the U.S. and Indians of the Northwest Territory redifining the boundaries between Indian and white man's land. -
George Washington Gives Presidential Farewell Address
He warned that there was a danger to the establishment in too much partisanship. -
William Loughton Smith Publishes Pamphlet Attacking Jefferson's Racial Politics
Described Jefferson's principles as a slippery slope to dangerous racial equality -
Andrew Jackson Elected to House of Representatives
Having moved to Tennessee where he had a plantation and worked as a lawyer. He was elected to the Senate in 1797 but resigned within a year. -
John Adams is Elected 2nd President of the United States
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XYZ Affair
President Adams sent diplomats to France to deter the authorization of the French government for their vessels to attack American shipping. The Americans code-named French officials X, Y, and Z and implied that negotiations could only take place if the French were offered bribes. This infuriated the American citizens. -
Rumors of the Illuminati Spread through New England
Massachusetts minister, Jedidiah Morse announced to his congregation that the French Revolution was spared by a conspiracy led by a mysterious anti-Christian organization. This led to increased fear of the French by Americans. -
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Arguments that the national government's authority is limited to the powers expressly granted by the U.S. Constitution and that states could declare federal laws unconstitutional. -
Alien and Sedition Acts Passed
Intended to prevent French agents and sympathizers from compromising American resistance. It allowed the government to deport foreign nationals who seemed to pose a national security threat. The Sedition Ace allowed the government to prosecute anyone found to be speaking or publishing against the government.
