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the first permanent English settlement in America, is established by the London Company in southeast Virginia
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The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown
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The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England
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The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England
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First battle of the French and Indian War is fought
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Last battle of the French and Indian War is fought. Treaty is signed by the British and the French
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British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests
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Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against theBritish tea tax.
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meet in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia
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Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war
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America formally announces its indepence to the British
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British general Charles Cornwallis surrenders to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va.
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Britain formally acknowledges American independence
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farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay.
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Delegates from 12 of 13 states meet to draft a new constitution
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George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors
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John Adams is innaugurated as the second president of the United States
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC
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Landmark Supreme Court decision greatly expands the power of the Court by establishing its right to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional
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United States agrees to pay France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, which extends west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and comprises about 830,000 sq mi
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U.S. declares war on Britain over British interference with American maritime shipping and westward expansion
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Landmark Supreme Court decision upholds the right of Congress to establish a national bank, a power implied but not specifically enumerated by the Constitution.
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In an effort to maintain the balance between free and slave states, Maine (formerly part of Massachusetts) is admitted as a free state so that Missouri can be admitted as a slave state; except for Missouri, slavery is prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase lands north of latitude 36°30'
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In his annual address to Congress, President Monroe declares that the American continents are henceforth off-limits for further colonization by European powers
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President Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, which authorizes the forced removal of Native Americans living in the eastern part of the country to lands west of the Mississippi River
