U.S. History Dates

U.S. HISTORY DATES
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND.
  • 1536 William Tyndale executed for translating the Bible into English
  • 1553 Queen Mary executes 6 mothers for teaching their children the Lord’s Prayer.
  • 1563 marriages must be solemnized by Catholics, Protestant children could not inherit property.
  • 1565 St. Augustine Flordia settled to kill the Huguenot colonists.
  • 1586 St. Augustine settlement raided & burnt by Francis Drake
  • 1607 Jamestown settlement. Only 60 of 504 remained by 1609.
  • 1620 Mayflower pilgrims flee from King James and his government Bible
  • 1620s to 1650s Quakers are still executed in Massachusetts
  • 1644 The Dutch trade Manhattan to the British
  • 1649 the trial of John Lilburne in England — from which we get our Fifth Amendment
AMERICAN COLONIAL OPPRESSION
  • March 1765: British Stamp Act
  • June – July 1767: British Townsend Acts
  • November 2, 1769: North Carolina is “first in freedom” to reject British imports.
  • March 5, 1770: Boston Massacre
  • December 16, 1773: Boston Tea Party
  • May 20, 1774 Massachusetts Government Act (14 Geo. 3 c. 45)
  • March-June 1774: British Coercive Acts
  • April 18-19, 1775: Paul Revere’s midnight ride
  • April 19, 1775: Battle of Lexington, “the shot heard around the world”
UNITED COLONIES
  • September – October 1774: The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia. 12 of the 13 Colonies are represented.
  • January 5, 1776 New Hampshire writes its first Constitution.
  • July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence
  • December 25–26, 1776: George Washington crosses the Delaware River
  • June 14, 1777 The Flag Act. Betsy Ross Flag adopted.
UNITED STATES
November 15, 1777: Articles of Confederation adopted by the Continental Congress
Winter 1777- 1778: George Washington retreats to Valley Forge, PA after defeats at Germantown, Brandywine Creek, Paoli, Forts Mifflin and Mercer
March 1, 1781: Articles of Confederation ratified by all states.
October 19, 1781 General Cornwallis surrenders to General Washington at Yorktown, Virginia
April 1782: Peace negotiations began
September 3, 1783: Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War. Signed by John Adams, Ben Franklin and John Jay.
November 2, 1783 General George Washington disbands the Army.
November 25, 1783. Evacuation day. British troop ships leave New York.
1785 – 1790 U.S. Capitol in New York City long before it moves back to Philadelphia.
May 25, 1787: The Constitutional Convention opens with a quorum of seven states in Philadelphia to discuss revising the Articles of Confederation. Eventually all states but Rhode Island are represented.
September 17, 1787: All 12 state delegations approve the Constitution, 39 delegates sign it of the 42 present, and the Convention formally adjourns.
January 1, 1788: Ben Franklin’s eighteen million Livres war debt to France is due.
June 21, 1788: The Constitution becomes effective for the ratifying states when New Hampshire is the ninth state to ratify it.
March 4, 1789: The first Congress under the Constitution convenes in New York City.
April 30, 1789: George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States. U.S. Government began when George Washington took his oath-of-office. (The artificial entity now has officers.)
June 8, 1789: James Madison introduces proposed Bill of Rights in the House of Representatives.
September 24, 1789: Congress establishes a Supreme Court, 13 district courts, three ad hoc circuit courts, and the position of Attorney General.
September 25, 1789: Congress approves 12 amendments and sends them to the states for ratification.
February 2, 1790: Supreme Court convenes for the first time
July 16, 1790: The Residence Act allowed for building the District of Columbia.
December 15, 1791: Virginia ratifies the Bill of Rights, and 10 of the 12 proposed amendments become part of the U.S. Constitution.
November 19, 1794: Jay Treaty with Britain. Takes affect February 29, 1796
1800 U.S. Capitol moved to the District of Columbia.
June 18, 1812 Congress declares war
September 13–14, 1814 Fort McHenry attacked by British
CIVIL WAR
  • April 12, 1861: Fort Sumter attacked
  • April 15, 1861 Lincoln proclaims war.
  • April 27, 1861: Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
  • July 25, 1861 Congress declares war aims. Congress never declared war against Confederate States.
  • April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant
  • December 6, 1865: 13th Amendment ratified
  • July 27, 1868 Expatriation Act enacted.
  • July 28, 1868: 14th Amendment ratified.

February 21, 1871 Washington DC became a municipal corporation.

August 21, 1878 American Bar Association founded.

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“Posterity! You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom.  I hope you will make good use of it.”
— John Quincy Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams, 26 April 1777