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1789 - U.S. Govt. under the constitution begins
Washington is inaugurated. Suggestions for addressing the president include "Excellency" and "Highness." Washington states U.S. neutrality after the French Revolution begins in Paris. -
1790 - First Census
U.S. population totals 3.9 million, including app. 760,000 Africans Americans, of whom 7000,000 are enslaved. -
1791 - Bill of Rights is ratified
First Bank of the Untied States is charted for twenty-year period. Benjamin Banneker writes Jefferson to apply the Declaration's principles to enslave people. -
1792 - Presidential Election
Kentucky enters the Union as the 15th state; first state to grant universal manhood suffrage Washington and Adams are re-elected presidents and vice-pres. -
1793 - Washington Declares war
Washington declares U.S. neutrality as war breaks out between France and Great Britain. Indians of the Northwest confederacy entreat U.S to keep the Ohio River as the boundary of Indians' lands. -
1794 - whiskey Rebellion
Britain agrees to withdraw from the Northwest Territory, and the U.S agrees to pay pre-Revolution debts. (Jay's Treaty:) whiskey Rebellion, in which farmers in western Pennsylvania protest the exercise tax on whiskey, is put down by federal troops. -
1795 - Northwest Territory
Spain allows the U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi River, and the 31st parallel is set as the border between the U.S and the Spanish empire. Northwest territory is opened for settlement after Indian defeat at Fallen Timbers. -
1796 - Presidential Election
Tennessee enters the Union as the 16th state, granting universal manhood suffrage. John Adams (Federalist) defeats Thomas Jefferson (Republican) for president (Jefferson becomes vice-president). Washington leaves the presidency after two terms and delivers his Farewell Address. -
1798 - Quasi War
"Quasi War" of 1798-1800 begins when France attempts to bribe U.S. commissioners in Paris, sparking the building tension between the nations. -
1800 - Second Census
U.S. population totals 5.3 million, including one million Africans Americans, of whom 900,000 are enslaved. Federal capital moves from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. -
1801 - Barbary War Begins
The Jefferson-Burr tie forces the election into the House of Representations; Jefferson is elected in 36 ballots as third president of the U.S. John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801-1835) -
1803 - Louisiana Territory
Was purchased from France for 15 million, nearly doubling the size of the U.S. Lewis and Clark Expedition begins in St. Louis. Ohio enters the Union as the 17th state, granting universal manhood suffrage. -
1805 - Barbary War Ends
After U.S. troops capture Darna. Pircay by Barbary States continues until 1815. Lewis and Clark expedition reaches the Pacific Ocean. -
1807 - Ban On Slave Trade
Ban on slave Trade is passed by congress, as required by the Constitution. Embargo Act is passed by Congress in response to British and French interference with U.S. trade. Jefferson orders British warships to leave U.S. trade. -
1808 - Presidential Election
The Osage tribe cedes its lands in Missouri and Arkansas regions to the U.S. U.S. ships and cargoes in European ports are confiscated. -
1810 - Third Census
U.S. population totals 7.2 million, including 1.4 million Africans Americans, of whom 1.2 million are enslave; population west of Appalachian Mountains is 1 million. -
1812 - War of 1812
begins as U.S. declares war on Great Britain over issues of borders, trade, freedom of the seas, and the right of neutrals. In general, the war is supported by westerners and opposed by New Engenders. Indians under Tecumseh fight on the side of the British. Louisiana enters the Union as the 18th state. -
1815 - Old Southwest
Hartford Resolutions. New England Federalists who opposed the War of 1812 consider secession but compromise at recommending constitutional amendments to protect state sovereignty. Gen. Andrew Jackson defeats British at the Battle of New Orleans. -
1817 - First Seminole War
U.S. and Britain demilitarize the Great Lakes, set the nothern U.S. border U.S. border at the 49th parallel for the Lake of the woods to the rocky mts,. and agree to joint custody of the Oregon Territory. Construction begins; completed in 1825, it connects the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi valleys with the Hudson river and thus the Atlantic Ocean. -
1820 - Fourth Census
U.S. population totals 10 million, including 1.7 million Africans Americans, of whom 1.5 million are enslaved; population west of Appalachian Mts. is 2.2 million. 6% of Americans live in cities.
