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The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was a document Congress debated about adopting for a year. It was America's first national constitution. -
Founding of Los Angeles
Spanish settlers founded the city of Los Angeles -
Financial Problems in the New Government
Congress set up a department of finance run by Philadelphia merchant Robert Morris and his business associate, Haym Saloman. They suggested amending the Articles of Confederation to allow Congress to place 5 percent tax on imports. -
Dividing Western Lands
Thomas Jefferson came up with a proposal to divide the Northwest Territory into 10 districts. When the population in any district reached 20,000, it's people would be able to send a representative to Congress. -
Rbeling Farmers
Daniel Shays led a large group of angry farmers to break into the military arsenal at Springfield, where hundreds of guns were stores. After a short battle with Massachusetts militia, Shays and his men retreated. -
The Federalist Papers
People in New York opened their newspapers to find a series of essays under the name Publius. The anonymous writer discussed and defended each part of the Constitution. The main goal of the essays was to convince New York delegates to ratify the document. -
A Historic Meeting
A few delegates arrived in Philly for the first day of the Constitutional Convention. The convention couldn't start until the end of May due to rough traveling conditions. Decisions were made by a simple majority. -
Delaware
Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution with a unanimous "yes" vote. Within a year, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut followed in ratifying it. -
New Hampshire
Federalists weren't worried about the Constitution being ratified in New Hampshire and were shocked when it failed the first time. The document was ratified in New Hampshire until June 1788. -
Massachusetts
By a close 187-168 vote, Massachusetts ratified the Constitution. -
New York
New York was a bit more challenging to convince the people to vote to ratify the Constitution. It wasn't ratified until July 1789. -
Congress approved
Congress approved 12 amendments based on the ideas Madison had presented. By the end of 1791, the states had approved 10 of them. -
Bank
The first bank of the United States was established -
Vermont
Formally the independent Vermont Republic becomes America's 14th state. -
Kentucky
Formally Kentucky County, Virginia becomes the 15th state of America.
