1600–1799


1607

Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, is established by the London Company in southeast Virginia (May 14 o.s.).


1619

The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia (July 30 o.s.). The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown (summer).


1620

The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England (Dec. 11 o.s.). Before disembarking from their ship, the Mayflower, 41 male passengers sign the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that forms the basis of the colony's government.


1650

Colonial population is estimated at 50,400.


1664

English seize New Amsterdam (city and colony) from the Dutch and rename it New York (Sept.).


1752

Britain and the British colonies switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar (Sept. 2).


1754–1763

French and Indian War: Final conflict in the ongoing struggle 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 (Sept. 13, 1759) and, by the Treaty of Paris (signed Feb. 10, 1763), formally gain control of Canada and all the French possessions east of the Mississippi.


1770

Boston Massacre: British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests (March 5).


1773

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 (Dec. 16).


1774

First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams (Sept. 5–Oct. 26).


1775–1783

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 (April 19, 1775). Battle-weary and destitute Continental army spends brutally cold winter and following spring at Valley Forge, Pa. (Dec. 19, 1777–June 19, 1778). British general Charles Cornwallis surrenders to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va. (Oct. 19, 1781). Great Britain formally acknowledges American independence in the Treaty of Paris, which officially brings the war to a close (Sept. 3, 1783).


1776

Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia (July 4).


1777

Continental Congress approves the first official flag of the United States (June 14). Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution (Nov. 15).


1786

Shays's Rebellion erupts (Aug.); farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay.


1787

Constitutional Convention, made up of delegates from 12 of the original 13 colonies, meets in Philadelphia to draft the U.S. Constitution (May–Sept.).

1789

George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors (Feb. 4). U.S. Constitution goes into effect, having been ratified by nine states (March 4). U.S. Congress (Web: clerkweb.house.gov/histrecs/househis/lists/sessions.htm ) meets for the first time at Federal Hall in New York City (March 4). Washington is inaugurated as president at Federal Hall in New York City (April 30).


1790

U.S. Supreme Court meets for the first time at the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City (Feb. 2). The court, made up of one chief justice and five associate justices, hears its first case in 1792. The nation's first census shows that the population has climbed to nearly 4 million.


1791

First ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, are ratified (Dec. 15).


1793

Washington's second inauguration is held in Philadelphia (March 4). Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin greatly increases the demand for slave labor.


1797

John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia (March 4). Adams, John, 1735–1826, 2d President of the United States (1797–1801), b. Quincy (then in Braintree), Mass., grad. Harvard, 1755. John Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams, founded one of the most distinguished families of the United States; their son, John Quincy Adams, was also President.

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