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Royal Colony of New Jersey established
Royal Colony of New Jersey established by Queen Anne from separate provinces of East New Jersey and West New Jersey. -
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The Queen Anne's War
The Queen Anne's War ends on April 11, 1713, with the French signing a treaty in the series of Treaties of Utrecht to give Nova Scotia to the British. -
Massachusetts is attacked
During Queen Anne's War, Deerfield, Massachusetts is attacked by French and Indian forces with fifty-six killed and over one hundred captured and carried off. -
The first theater
The first theater in the colonies to open for business in Williamsburg, Virginia when the contract is signed to build the theater. -
City of New Orleans is founded
May 7, 1718 - French colonists under the governor of the French colony of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienvile, with the French Mississippi Company found the City of New Orleans, named after the regent of France, Philip II, the Duke of Orleans. It is located on the lands of the Chitimacha tribe. -
The Villasur expedition of Spanish troops leaves Mexico
The Villasur expedition of Spanish troops leaves Mexico on a mission to control the increasing presence of the French in the Great Plains. -
Defeat of the Villasur expedition
The Pawnee end and defeat the Villasur expedition, near the Loup and Platte Rivers, near Columbus, Nebraska. -
George Washington is born
George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia -
Poor Richard's Almanac is published
Poor Richard's Almanac is published for the first of its twenty-six annual editions by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. It would sell as many as 10,000 copies per year. -
Freedom of the Press became recognized in New York
Freedom of the Press became recognized in New York after the trial of John Peter Zenger, who had been accused of labeling the British Government in his Weekly Journal. Zenger was acquitted on that date. -
The First Great Awakening movement
Anglican minister George Whitefield arrives for his first of seven visits to North America and becomes the predominant preacher in the First Great Awakening movement throughout the colonies. -
First battle of King George's War
First battle of King George's War begins with a raid by New French against the British port of Canso. -
Benjamin Franklin invents the 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. -
George Washington and his troops attack Fort Duquesne
George Washington and his troops attack Fort Duquesne, an initial action of the French and Indian War between the English and French which began when French forces built and occupied Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh and did not heed warnings to leave Virginia territory. -
Battle of Fort Necessity
July 3, 1754 - Battle of Fort Necessity occurs in southwestern Pennsylvania in a small fort built for supplies. That battle of the French and Indian War ends in a peace document, allowing Washington's withdrawal and surrender of the fort. -
French and Indian War ends
French and Indian War ends with peace treaty that cedes Canada and the American midwest to English. This signals and effectively tightens the control of Great Britain's colonial administration of North America. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act places a duty on various commodities, including lumber, food, molasses, and rum in the British colonies. -
New York and adopted a Declaration of Rights against taxation without representation
After the establishment of the Stamp Act by the British Government on March 22, which required revenue stamps, taxes, to pay for British troops, nine American colonies hold a Stamp Act Congress in New York and adopted a Declaration of Rights against taxation without representation. -
Stamp Act is repealed
Stamp Act is repealed. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurs when British troops fire into a Boston mob, who were demonstrating against British troops at the customs commission. -
The House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia react
The House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia reacts strongly against British policies by setting up a committee to contact the other colonies about their common defense. They issue the Virginia Resolutions Establishing A Committee of Correspondence. -
Boston Tea Party
Bostonians led by Josiah Quincy and Samuel Adams discussed the new British tax on tea and subsequently boarded three ships in the nearby harbor, tossing the 342 chests of tea overboard. The Boston Tea Party caused Parliament to close the port of Boston and pushed the American colonies one step closer to war. -
Thomas Paine his pamphlet "Common Sense"
Thomas Paine, an English writer, publishes his pamphlet "Common Sense," touting the ability and right of America to create a democratic and free nation, winning public support for the cause of American independence from Britain with the sale of hundreds of thousands of copies. Thomas Jefferson received a copy of "Common Sense" at his home Monticello, whose sentiments pleased him, and the course for independence and the Declaration to follow began. -
George Washington is elected
George Washington is elected unanimously by the Electoral College as the 1st President of the United States. -
Supreme Court is created
The Federal Judiciary Act is passed, creating the Supreme Court. -
First State of the Union address
The first State of the Union address is given by first president George Washington. -
Steamboat is patented
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, which proved unprofitable. -
Slave law passed
The United States Congress passes a federal law requiring the return of slaves that escaped from slave states into free territory or states. -
Cotton gin is invented
Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, which could do the work of fifty men when cleaning cotton by hand. -
George Washington passes
George Washington, the 1st commander of the Revolution and President of the United States, passes at his estate in Virginia.