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Jefferson Writes the DOI
The United States Declaration of Independence is the pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, included eighty-six changes made later by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and other members of the committee. -
Sate constitutions
Virginia, the first to be written and adopted one week prior to the Declaration of Independence. New Jersey, adopted on July 2, 1776, and the first to exclude a prefatory bill of rights. And Pennsylvania, the third constitution adopted and considered the most radical. -
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal battle during the American Revolutionary War, which took place on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. -
Howe captures Philadelphia
The British had captured Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, following General George Washington's defeats at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of the Clouds. -
American and British battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October, 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution. It included two crucial battles, fought eighteen days apart, and was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War. -
The American and British battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October, 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution. It included two crucial battles, fought eighteen days apart, and was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War. -
Articles of Confederation
he Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution. It was approved, after much debate, by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and sent to the states for ratification. -
Winter at Valley Forge
In December, 1777, General George Washington moved the Continental Army to their winter quarters at Valley Forge. Though Revolutionary forces had secured a pivotal victory at Saratoga in September and October, Washington’s army suffered defeats at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, Pennsylvania. The rebel capital, Philadelphia, fell into British hands. -
Spain Declares war on Great Britain
On June 21, 1779, Spain declares war on Great Britain, creating a de facto alliance with the Americans. Spain's King Charles III would not consent to a treaty of alliance with the United States. -
John Paul Jones & Serapis
The American warship Bonhomme Richard in battle with the British frigate Serapis, September 23, 1779. Sighting two enemy ships of war conveying merchantmen loaded with naval stores, Jones's Bonhomme Richard engaged the British frigate Serapis, commanded by Captain Richard Pearson in a long dual. -
British forces capture Charles Town
In March 1780, Clinton, Prevost, and General Charles Lord Cornwallis, whose force had accompanied Clinton from New York, descended on Charleston. By early April, the combined British forces had successfully trapped the Americans in the beleaguered city. -
British surrender at Yorktown
General Cornwallis brought 8,000 British troops to Yorktown. They expected help from British ships sent from New York. The British ships never arrived. That was lucky for General George Washington and the Continental army. The thirteen colonies found their opportunity to beat the world's largest empire. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S. and British Representatives on September 3, 1783, ending the War of the American Revolution. Based on a1782 preliminary treaty, the agreement recognized U.S. independence and granted the U.S. significant western territory. -
Congress prohibits enslaved people imported to the US
On this day in 1807, Congress enacted a law to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States from any foreign kingdom, place or country.” The ban took effect on Jan. 1, 1808.
