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Virginia Slave Code
Virginia Slave Code passed in the Virginia House of Burgesses. -
Slaves
Twenty-nine years after the first revolt of slaves in New York, a second uprising occurs. Seventeen slaves were hanged after the revolt, thirteen burned, and seventy deported. -
Lightning rod
Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning rod after earlier in the year proving that lightning was electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. -
French and Indian War
French and Indian War: The final conflict in the ongoing fight between the British and French for control of eastern North America. The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec. -
Treaty of Paris
With the Treaty of Paris, the British formally gain control of Canada and all the French possessions east of the Mississippi. -
Stamp Act
British Parliament passes the Stamp Act regulations to pay for British troops in the American colonies and cover debts incurred in the French and Indian War. -
Stamp Act repealed
Stamp Act repealed -
Boston Massacre
British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests. -
Boston Tea Party
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 the British tea tax. -
First Colonial Congress meets
First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams. -
American Revolution
War of independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war. -
Declaration of Independence
Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. -
First U.S. flag
Continental Congress approves the first official flag of the United States. -
Articles of Confederation
Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution. -
American Revolution
Battle-weary and destitute Continental army spends brutally cold winter and following spring at Valley Forge, Pa. -
American Revolution
British general Charles Cornwallis surrenders to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va. -
Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin greatly increases the demand for slave labor. -
Treaty of Paris
Great Britain formally acknowledges American independence in the Treaty of Paris, which officially brings the war to a close. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shays's Rebellion erupts; farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay. -
U.S. Constitution
Constitutional Convention, made up of delegates from 12 of the original 13 colonies, meets in Philadelphia to draft the U.S. Constitution. -
First U.S. president
George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors. -
U.S. Constitution
U.S. Constitution goes into effect, having been ratified by nine states. -
First Presidential Inauguration
Washington is inaugurated as president at Federal Hall in New York City. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is submitted to the states by Congress. -
U.S. Supreme Courts first meeting
U.S. Supreme Court meets for the first time at the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City. -
Vermont
Vermont is added as the 14th State. Carved from portions of New York and New Hampshire, and first known as New Connecticut, Vermont spent fourteen years as an independent republic before joining the Union. -
Invention of steamboat
The steamboat is patented in the United States by John Fitch. First launched on the Delaware River in 1787, and operated passenger service from Philadelphia to Burlington, New Jersey. -
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, are ratified. -
Supreme Court first case
The court, made up of one chief justice and five associate justices, hears its first case in 1792. -
Washington second inauguration
Washington's second inauguration is held in Philadelphia. -
Second U.S. president
John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia. -
Abolishing slavery
A law is passed to abolish slavery in the state of New York, effective twenty-eight years later, in 1827. -
Whiskey Rebllion
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 its laws.
