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Battle of Lexington and Concord
occurred when a British force of 700 men from Boston were ordered to confiscate weapons from a militia arsenal in Concord. The British fired on a group of minutemen in Lexington, killing 8 minutemen, and thousands of minutemen came to their comrades aid and the british had to fight hard to get back to Boston - this was the beginning of the American Revolution. -
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American Revolution
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Second Continental Congress
The delegates then proceeded to draw up the famous document that was to be known as the Declaration of Independence. They began making provisions to form the American Continental army to defend the colonies. George Washington was appointed as Commander-in-Chief over the newly found army. This was a huge step towards what would become an amazing new nation. To finance the new military, Congress also voted to start printing money. Congress had officially taken charge of the war effort. -
George Washington named Commander in Chief
Washington had been managing his family's plantation and serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses when the second Continental Congress unanimously voted to have him lead the revolutionary army. He had earlier distinguished himself, in the eyes of his contemporaries, as a commander for the British army in the French and Indian War of 1754. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
In an attempt to fortify 2 hills overlooking Boston, Israel Putnam moved his men onto Breed's Hill.General William Howe & 2000 redcoats attacked the hills."don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes"British claimed victory since they took the hill but lost 1000 British soldiers to only half that of colonists. -
Common Sense-published
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 that inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain in the summer of 1776 -
Viginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights is a document drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to rebel against "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), the United States Bill of Rights (1789), and the French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789). -
First Virginia Constitution
The original Virginia Constitution of 1776 was enacted in conjunction with the Declaration of Independence by the first thirteen states of the United States of America. Virginia was the first state to adopt its own constitution, and the document was widely influential both in the United States and abroad. -
Battle of Long Island
The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was a defeat for the Continental Army under General George Washington and the beginning of a successful campaign that gave the British control of the strategically important city of New York. In the American Revolutionary War it was the first major battle to take place after the United States declared independence on July 4, 1776. -
Battle of Harlem Heights
During the short but intense fighting that ensued, the Americans were able to force a small British retreat from their northern positions.Despite the American failure to stop the British invasion of New York City the previous day at Kip's Bay, the successful Battle of Harlem Heights restored public confidence in the American troops and lifted the spirits of the Continental Army. The Americans and British each lost approximately 70 troops in the fighting. -
Battle of Trenton
The effect of the battle of Trenton was out of all proportion to the numbers involved and the casualties. The American effort across the colonies was galvanized and the psychological dominance achieved by the British in the preceding year overturned. Howe was stunned that a strong German contingent could be surprised in such a manner and put up so little resistance. Washington’s constant problem was to maintain the enthusiasm of his army for the war, particularly with the system of one year recr -
Lafayette arrives
When Lafayette learned of the struggle of the Americans in their endeavor to secure their independence he resolved to come to the colonies to aid them in their efforts as a volunteer. He also persuaded several French officers to come with him. Eventually he landed near Charleston, South Carolina, June 13, 1777, and when the leaders learned of his mission they welcomed him very hospitably. -
British under Howe occupy Philedelphia
Washington had failed in his effort to prevent the British from taking the American capital city, but he had succeeded in the more important task to keep his army intact. While Howe enjoyed the comforts of Philadelphia, Washington led his forces into winter quarters at Valley Forge in mid-December. -
Valley Forge
No battle was fought at Valley Forge. Yet, it was the turning point of the Revolutionary War.Early into the six-month encampment, there was hunger, disease, and despair. Raw weather stung and numbed the soldiers. Some couldn't take the cold, hunger, and uncertainty any longer. There were dozens of desertions. Disease debilitated. Death descended in droves. -
Treaty of Alliance signed
The Treaty of Alliance with France: Franco-American Treaty, was the defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future. Delegates of King Louis XVI of France and the Second Continental Congress, who represented the United States government at this time. -
Henry Clinton replaces Howe
General Sir Henry Clinton, KB (16 April 1730 – 23 December 1795) was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America. -
Valley Forge (continued)
In March, General Nathanael Greene was appointed head of the dismal Commissary Department and magically food and supplies started to trickle in. -
Baron von Steuben
By April, Baron von Steuben, a quirky mercenary who was not really a baron, began to magically transform threadbare troops into a fighting force. Also in April, the Conway Cabal, a plot to remove George Washington from power, was quashed for good. May, brought news of the French Alliance, and with it the military and financial support of France. -
End of Valley Forge
On June 19, 1778, exactly six months after they Americans arrived, a new army anxious to fight the British streamed out of Valley Forge toward New Jersey. They had been transformed from Rebel into a Mature Army. -
Spain declares war on Great Britain
Spain's King Charles III would not consent to a treaty of alliance with the United States. For one imperial power to encourage another imperial power's colonies in revolt was a treacherous game, and he was unwilling to play. However, French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, managed to negotiate a treaty with Spain to join their war against the British. As the ally of the United States' ally, Spain managed to endorse the revolt at a critical diplomatic distance. -
British capture Charleston
After a siege that began on April 2, 1780, Americans suffer their worst defeat of the revolution on this day in 1780, with the unconditional surrender of Major General Benjamin Lincoln to British Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton and his army of 10,000 at Charleston, South Carolina. -
Nathanael Greene named commander of Southern Army
The next year, at the age of 34, he became the youngest officer promoted to major general in the Continental Army. Greene was one of Washington’s closest confidants and respected commanders throughout the war. As commander of the Southern Army, he performed remarkably, and proved himself a genius of strategy and logistics. His command of American forces directly led to the British defeat at Yorktown in 1781, and therefore ultimately to American independence. -
Articles of Confederation are adopted
After 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress, sitting in its temporary capital of York, Pennsylvania, agrees to adopt the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union on this day in 1777. Not until March 1, 1781, would the last of the 13 states, Maryland, ratify the agreement. -
Battle of Yorktown
On this day in 1781, General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Treaty of Paris
The preliminary articles of peace were signed by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Henry Laurens for the United States and Richard Oswald for Great Britain on November 30, 1782. The final treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by the Continental Congress early in 1784. -
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Constitutional Convention
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. Although the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention from the outset of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, was to create a new government rather than fix the existing one. -
Connecticut Compromise
an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. It retained the bicameral legislature as proposed by Roger Sherman, along with proportional representation in the lower house, but required the upper house to be weighted equally between the states. Each state would have two representatives in the upper house. -
Committee of Detail
The Committee of Detail was a committee established by the United States Constitutional Convention on July 24, 1787 to put down a draft text reflecting the agreements made by the Convention up to that point, including the Virginia Plan's 15 resolutions. It was chaired by John Rutledge, and other members included Edmund Randolph, Oliver Ellsworth, James Wilson, and Nathaniel Gorham.[1] The Convention adjourned from July 26 to August 6 to await the report of this committee. This report, when made, -
Madison's Virginia plan
The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.[1] The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.[2][3] The Virginia Plan was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population-weighted representation in the propose -
US Constitution signed
The Constitution of the United States of America is signed by 38 of 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Supporters of the document waged a hard-won battle to win ratification by the necessary nine out of 13 U.S. states. -
Constitution adopted
New Hampshire becomes the ninth and last necessary state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land.
