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Jefferson writes the DOI
Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence had 86 changes by John Adams, Ben Franklin, and the Congress. John Adams had convinced Jefferson to write the draft because Jefferson had the fewest enemies in Congress and was the best writer. Thomas Jefferson had 17 days to produce the draft, but he wrote it in a day or 2. -
Battles of Trent and New Jersey
General George Washington's army went across the icy Delaware on the Christmas of 1776 and, over the course of the next 10 days, won two crucial battles of the American Revolution. In the Battle of Trenton the day after Christmas, Washington defeated a formidable garrison of Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. -
Howe captures Philadelphia
General Howe deployed about 15,000 troops in late August at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, about 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Philadelphia. General Washington positioned 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia but was outflanked and driven back at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 and suffered over 1,000 casualties, and the British lost about half that number. -
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. -
State Constitutions
These first state constitutions proved to be the greatest source of ideas for drafting the U. S. Constitution and later the Bill of Rights. Four colonies adopted constitutions even before the Declaration of In- dependence was proclaimed on July 4, 1776. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first written constitution of the United States. Written in 1777 and stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states. It was not ratified until March 1, 1781 -
Congress prohibits enslaved people imported to the US
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.” -
Winter at Valley Forge
General George Washington moved the Continental Army to their winter quarters at Valley Forge. By the time the army marched into Valley Forge on December 19, they were suffering not only from cold, hunger, and fatigue, but from low morale in the wake of the disastrous Philadelphia Campaign. -
John Paul Jones & Serapis
During the American Revolution, the U.S. ship Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, wins a tough engagement against British ships of war Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, off the east coast of England. -
Spain Declares war on Great Britain
On June 21, 1779, Spain declares war on Great Britain, creating an alliance with Americans. Spain's King Charles III did not want to have the treaty of alliance with the United States. -
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
In the Treaty of Paris, the British Crown formally recognized American independence and ceded most of its territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States, doubling the size of the new nation and paving the way for westward expansion.
