Summary of USA History in the 18th Century

Summary of USA History in the 18th Century

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1701
Fort Pontchartrain is built by the French at Detroit.
Yale College is founded. It will not become a university until 1887.
William Penn gives Pennsylvania its first constitution, called the Charter of Privileges.
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1702
New Jersey is formed when East and West Jersey are united under the authority of the New York governor.
Queen Anne’s War (The War of Spanish Succession) begins. Later in the year, the Spanish settlement at St. Augustine falls to Carolina forces.
Cotton Mather publishes The Ecclesiastical History of New England, 1620-1698
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1703
Connecticut and Rhode Island agree upon a common boundary line
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1704
During Queen Anne’s War, French and Abenaki Indians destroy Deerfield Massachusetts. Later in the year, New England colonists destroy two important supply villages in Acadia (present day Nova Scotia).
The first regular newspaper, the Boston News-Letter was published.
The first Delaware assembly meets
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1705
Virginia Black Code of 1705 is passed. This restricts the travel of slaves
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1706
Benjamin Franklin is born.
French and Spanish soldiers unsuccessfully attack Charlestown, South Carolina during Queen Anne’s War
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1707
The United Kingdom of Great Britain is founded when the Act of the Union combines England, Scotland, and Wales
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1708
The English settlement at Newfoundland is captured by French and Indian forces
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1709
Massachusetts is becoming more willing to accept other religions as evidenced by the Quakers being allowed to establish a meeting house in Boston.
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1710
The English capture Port Royal (Nova Scotia) and rename the settlement Annapolis
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1711
The Tuscarora Indian War begins when North Carolina settlers are killed by the Indians
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1712
Carolina is officially separated into North and South Carolina, each with its own governor.
Pennsylvania bans the import of slaves into the colony
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1713
When South Carolinian forces capture Fort Nohucke of the Tuscarora Indians, the remaining Indians flee north and join the Iroquois Nation
The Treaty of Utrecht ends Queen Anne’s War. Acadia, Hudson Bay, and Newfoundland are given to the English
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1714
King George I becomes the King of England
Tea is introduced to the American colonies
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1715
Maryland is given back to Charles, the fourth Lord Baltimore after a long period of royal rule.
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1716
Black slaves arrive for the first time in the French colony of Louisiana.
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1717
Scots-Irish immigration begins in earnest due to higher rent rates in the Great Britain
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1718
New Orleans is founded.
The Spanish found the city of San Antonio in the Texas territory
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1719
Spanish settlers surrender Pensacola, Florida to French forces
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1720
The three largest cities in the colonies are Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City
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1721
South Carolina is named a royal colony.
When Sir Robert Walpole becomes the English Chancellor of the Exchequer, a period of “benign neglect” begins that will have huge ramifications in the years leading up to the American Revolution.
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1722
The Alamo is erected as a mission in San Antonio
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1723
Maryland requires the establishment of public schools in all counties
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1724
The first permanent settlement in Vermont is established at present-day Brattleboro.
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1725
It is estimated that by 1725 there are approximately 75,000 black slaves in the American colonies

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1727
King George II ascends the English throne.
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1729
Benjamin Franklin begins publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette, which eventually becomes the most popular colonial newspaper.
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1730
Baltimore is founded in the Maryland colony.
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1731
The first American public library is founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin.
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22-2-1732
George Washington is born in Virginia. Also in February, the first mass is celebrated in the only Catholic church in colonial America, in Philadelphia. In June, Georgia, the 13th English colony, is founded.
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1732-1757
Benjamin Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanac, containing weather predictions, humor, proverbs and epigrams, selling nearly 10,000 copies per year.
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1733
The Molasses Act, passed by the English Parliament, imposes heavy duties on molasses, rum and sugar imported from non-British islands in the Caribbean to protect the English planters there from French and Dutch competition.
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1734
In November, New York newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger is arrested and accused of seditious libel by the Governor. In December, the Great Awakening religious revival movement begins in Massachusetts. The movement will last ten years and spread to all of the American colonies.
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1735
John Peter Zenger is brought to trial for seditious libel but is acquitted after his lawyer successfully convinces the jury that truth is a defense against libel.
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1739
England declares war on Spain. As a result, in America, hostilities break out between Florida Spaniards and Georgia and South Carolina colonists.
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1739
three separate violent uprisings by black slaves occur in South Carolina.

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1740
Fifty black slaves are hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, after plans for another revolt are revealed.
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1740
in Europe, the War of the Austrian Succession begins after the death of Emperor Charles VI and eventually results in France and Spain allied against England. The conflict is known in the American colonies as King George's War and lasts until 1748..
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1750
The Iron Act is passed by the English Parliament, limiting the growth of the iron industry in the American colonies to protect the English Iron industry.
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1751
The Currency Act is passed by the English Parliament, banning the issuing of paper money by the New England colonies.
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1754
The French and Indian War erupts as a result of disputes over land in the Ohio River Valley. In May, George Washington leads a small group of American colonists to victory over the French, then builds Fort Necessity in the Ohio territory. In July, after being attacked by numerically superior French forces, Washington surrenders the fort and retreats.
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1755
In February, English General Edward Braddock arrives in Virginia with two regiments of English troops. Gen. Braddock assumes the post of commander in chief of all English forces in America.
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1755
In April, Gen. Braddock and Lt. Col. George Washington set out with nearly 2000 men to battle the French in the Ohio territory.

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1755
In July, a force of about 900 French and Indians defeat those English forces. Braddock is mortally wounded. Massachusetts Governor William Shirley then becomes the new commander in chief.
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1756
England declares war on France, as the French and Indian War in the colonies now spreads to Europe.
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1757
In June, William Pitt becomes England's Secretary of State and escalates the French and Indian War in the colonies by establishing a policy of unlimited warfare. In July, Benjamin Franklin begins a five year stay in London.
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1758
In July, a devastating defeat occurs for English forces at Lake George, New York, as nearly two thousand men are lost during a frontal attack against well entrenched French forces at Fort Ticonderoga. French losses are 377.
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1758
In November, the French abandon Fort Duquesne in the Ohio territory. Settlers then rush into the territory to establish homes.
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1758
the first Indian reservation in America is founded, in New Jersey, on 3000 acres.
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1759
French Fort Niagara is captured by the English
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1759 war erupts between Cherokee Indians and southern colonists.
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13-9-1759
The Fall of Quebec
Battle of the "Plains of Abraham"
British defeat French, thus gaining control of Canada.
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1760
The population of colonists in America reaches 1,500,000.
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1760
In March, much of Boston is destroyed by a raging fire. In September, Quebec surrenders to the English.
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1760
In October, George III becomes the new English King.
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1762
England declares war on Spain, which had been planning to ally itself with France and Austria. The British then successfully attack Spanish outposts in the West Indies and Cuba.
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1763
The French and Indian War, known in Europe as the Seven Year's War, ends with the Treaty of Paris. Under the treaty, France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.
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1763
In May, the Ottawa Native Americans under Chief Pontiac begin all-out warfare against the British west of Niagara, destroying several British forts and conducting a siege against the British at Detroit.
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1763
In August, Pontiac's forces are defeated by the British near Pittsburgh. The siege of Detroit ends in November, but hostilities between the British and Chief Pontiac continue for several years.
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1763
The Proclamation of 1763, signed by King George III of England, prohibits any English settlement west of the Appalachian mountains and requires those already settled in those regions to return east in an attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans.
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1764
The Sugar Act is passed by the English Parliament to offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly acquired territories. This act increases the duties on imported sugar and other items such as textiles, coffee, wines and indigo (dye). It doubles the duties on foreign goods reshipped from England to the colonies and also forbids the import of foreign rum and French wines.
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1764
The Currency Act prohibits the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money. This act threatens to destabilize the entire colonial economy of both the industrial North and agricultural South, thus uniting the colonists against it.
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1765
In March, the Stamp Act is passed by the English Parliament imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies, to offset the high costs of the British military organization in America. Thus for the first time in the 150 year old history of the British colonies in America, the Americans will pay tax not to their own local legislatures in America, but directly to England.
Under the Stamp Act, all printed materials are taxed, including; newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards. The American colonists quickly unite in opposition, led by the most influential segments of colonial society
lawyers, publishers, land owners, ship builders and merchants
who are most affected by the Act, which is scheduled to go into effect on November 1.
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1765
Also in March, the Quartering Act requires colonists to house British troops and supply them with food.
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1765
In May,
in Virginia, Patrick Henry presents seven Virginia Resolutions to the House of Burgesses claiming that only the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents, saying, "If this be treason, make the most of it."
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1765
In May, the first medical school in America is founded, in Philadelphia.
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1765
In July, the Sons of Liberty, an underground organization opposed to the Stamp Act, is formed in a number of colonial towns. Its members use violence and intimidation to eventually force all of the British stamp agents to resign and also stop many American merchants from ordering British trade goods.
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26-8-1765
a mob in Boston attacks the home of Thomas Hutchinson, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, as Hutchinson and his family narrowly escape.
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1765
In October, the Stamp Act Congress convenes in New York City, with representatives from nine of the colonies. The Congress prepares a resolution to be sent to King George III and the English Parliament. The petition requests the repeal of the Stamp Act and the Acts of 1764. The petition asserts that only colonial legislatures can tax colonial residents and that taxation without representation violates the colonists' basic civil rights.
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1766
In January, the New York assembly refuses to completely comply with Gen. Gage's request to enforce the Quartering Act.
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1766
In March, King George III signs a bill repealing the Stamp Act after much debate in the English Parliament, which included an appearance by Ben Franklin arguing for repeal and warning of a possible revolution in the American colonies if the Stamp Act was enforced by the British military.
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1766
On the same day it repealed the Stamp Act, the English Parliament passes the Declaratory Act stating that the British government has total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies in all cases whatsoever.
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1766
In April, news of the repeal of the Stamp Act results in celebrations in the colonies and a relaxation of the boycott of imported English trade goods.
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1766
In August, violence breaks out in New York between British soldiers and armed colonists, including Sons of Liberty members. The violence erupts as a result of the continuing refusal of New York colonists to comply with the Quartering Act.
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1766
In December, the New York legislature is suspended by the English Crown after once again voting to refuse to comply with the Act.
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1767
In June, The English Parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Acts, imposing a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The Act also establishes a colonial board of customs commissioners in Boston. In October, Bostonians decide to reinstate a boycott of English luxury items.
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1768
In July, the governor of Massachusetts dissolves the general court after the legislature defies his order to revoke Adams' circular letter.
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1768
In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed.
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1768
In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves.
Later in September, English warships sail into Boston Harbor, then two regiments of English infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence to keep order.
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1769
In July, in the territory of California, San Diego is founded by Franciscan Friar Juniper Serra. In October, the boycott of English goods spreads to New Jersey, Rhode Island, and then North Carolina.
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1770
The population of the American colonies reaches 2,210,000 persons.
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1770
Violence erupts in January between members of the Sons of Liberty in New York and 40 British soldiers over the posting of broadsheets by the British. Several men are seriously wounded.
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5-3-1770
The Boston Massacre occurs as a mob harasses British soldiers who then fire their muskets pointblank into the crowd, killing three instantly, mortally wounding two others and injuring six. After the incident, the new Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, at the insistence of Sam Adams, withdraws British troops out of Boston to nearby harbor islands. The captain of the British soldiers, Thomas Preston, is then arrested along with eight of his men and charged with murder.

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1770
In April, the Townshend Acts are repealed by the British. All duties on imports into the colonies are eliminated except for tea. Also, the Quartering Act is not renewed.
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1770
In October, trial begins for the British soldiers arrested after the Boston Massacre. Colonial lawyers John Adams and Josiah Quincy successfully defend Captain Preston and six of his men, who are acquitted. Two other soldiers are found guilty of manslaughter, branded, then released.
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1772
In June, a British customs schooner, the Gaspee, runs aground off Rhode Island in Narragansett Bay. Colonists from Providence row out to the schooner and attack it, set the British crew ashore, then burn the ship. In September, a 500 pound reward is offered by the English Crown for the capture of those colonists, who would then be sent to England for trial. The announcement that they would be sent to England further upsets many American colonists.
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1773
In March, the Virginia House of Burgesses appoints an eleven member committee of correspondence to communicate with the other colonies regarding common complaints against the British. Members of that committee include, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee. Virginia is followed a few months later by New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and South Carolina.
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10-5-1773
Tea Act takes effect.
It maintains a three penny per pound import tax on tea arriving in the colonies, which had already been in effect for six years.
It also gives the near bankrupt British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by allowing it to sell directly to colonial agents, bypassing any middlemen, thus underselling American merchants.
The East India Company had successfully lobbied Parliament for such a measure.
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1773
In September, Parliament authorizes The East India Company to ship half a million pounds of tea to a group of chosen tea agents.
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16-12-1773
About 8000 Bostonians gather to hear Sam Adams tell them Royal Governor Hutchinson has repeated his command not to allow the ships out of the harbor until the tea taxes are paid. That night, the Boston Tea Party occurs as colonial activists disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians then board the ships and dump all 342 containers of tea into the harbor.
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1774
In March, an angry English Parliament passes the first of a series of Coercive Acts (called Intolerable Acts by Americans) in response to the rebellion in Massachusetts. The Boston Port Bill effectively shuts down all commercial shipping in Boston harbor until Massachusetts pays the taxes owed on the tea dumped in the harbor and also reimburses the East India Company for the loss of the tea.
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12-5-1774
Bostonians at a town meeting call for a boycott of British imports in response to the Boston Port Bill. May 13, General Thomas Gage, commander of all British military forces in the colonies, arrives in Boston and replaces Hutchinson as Royal governor, putting Massachusetts under military rule. He is followed by the arrival of four regiments of British troops.
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20-5-1774
The English Parliament enacts the next series of Coercive Acts, which include the Massachusetts Regulating Act and the Government Act virtually ending any self-rule by the colonists there. Instead, the English Crown and the Royal governor assume political power formerly exercised by colonists.

Also enacted; the Administration of Justice Act which protects royal officials in Massachusetts from being sued in colonial courts, and the Quebec Act establishing a centralized government in Canada controlled by the Crown and English Parliament. The Quebec Act greatly upsets American colonists by extending the southern boundary of Canada into territories claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia.
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1774
In June, a new version of the 1765 Quartering Act is enacted by the English Parliament requiring all of the American colonies to provide housing for British troops in occupied houses and taverns and in unoccupied buildings.
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1774
In September, Massachusetts Governor Gage seizes that colony's arsenal of weapons at Charlestown.
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5-9-1774
to: 26-10-1774
the First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia with 56 delegates, representing every colony, except Georgia. Attendants include Patrick Henry, George Washington, Sam Adams and John Hancock.
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17-9-1774
the Congress declares its opposition to the Coercive Acts, saying they are "not to be obeyed," and also promotes the formation of local militia units. On October 14, a Declaration and Resolves is adopted that opposes the Coercive Acts, the Quebec Act, and other measure taken by the British that undermine self-rule. The rights of the colonists are asserted, including the rights to "life, liberty and property." On October 20, the Congress adopts the Continental Association in which delegates agree to a boycott of English imports, effect an embargo of exports to Britain, and discontinue the slave trade.
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1-2-1775
in Cambridge, Mass., a provincial congress is held during which John Hancock and Joseph Warren begin defensive preparations for a state of war. February 9, the English Parliament declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. March 23, in Virginia, Patrick Henry delivers a speech against British rule, stating, "Give me liberty or give me death!" March 30, the New England Restraining Act is endorsed by King George III, requiring New England colonies to trade exclusively with England and also bans fishing in the North Atlantic.
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1775
In April, Massachusetts Governor Gage is ordered to enforce the Coercive Acts and suppress "open rebellion" among the colonists by all necessary force.
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18-4-1775
General Gage orders 700 British soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonists' weapons depot. That night, Paul Revere and William Dawes are sent from Boston to warn colonists. Revere reaches Lexington about midnight and warns Sam Adams and John Hancock who are hiding out there.
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19-4-1775
At dawn , about 70 armed Massachusetts militiamen stand face to face on Lexington Green with the British advance guard. An unordered 'shot heard around the world' begins the American Revolution. A volley of British rifle fire followed by a charge with bayonets leaves eight Americans dead and ten wounded. The British regroup and head for the depot in Concord, destroying the colonists' weapons and supplies. At the North Bridge in Concord, a British platoon is attacked by militiamen, with 14 casualties. 2 Colonists killed.

British forces then begin a long retreat from Lexington back to Boston and are harassed and shot at all along the way by farmers and rebels and suffer over 250 casualties. News of the events at Lexington and Concord spreads like wildfire throughout the Colonies.
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23-4-1775
The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized. Colonial volunteers from all over New England assemble and head for Boston, then establish camps around the city and begin a year long siege of British-held Boston.

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19-4-1782
The Dutch recognize the United States of America as a result of negotiations conducted in the Netherlands by John Adams.
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4-2-1783
England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.
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10-3-1783
An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers camped at Newburgh, New York. The letter calls for an unauthorized meeting and urges the officers to defy the authority of the new U.S. national government (Congress) for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day, Gen. Washington forbids the unauthorized meeting and instead suggests a regular meeting to be held on March 15. A second anonymous letter then appears and is circulated. This letter falsely claims Washington himself sympathizes with the rebellious officers.
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15-3-1783
General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy. Read more about this
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26-4-1783
7000 Loyalists set sail from New York for Canada, bringing a total of 100,000 Loyalists who have now fled America.
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8-7-1783
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state.
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3-9-1783
The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain. Congress will ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784.
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7-10-1783
In Virginia, the House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army.
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2-11-1783
George Washington delivers his farewell address to his army. The next day, remaining troops are discharged.
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23-12-1783
Following a triumphant journey from New York to Annapolis, George Washington, victorious commander in chief of the American Revolutionary Army, appears before Congress and voluntarily resigns his commission, an event unprecedented in history.
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14-1-1784
The Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress. The Revolutionary War officially ends.
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22-9-1784
Russians establish their first settlement in Alaska, on Kodiak Island.
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24-2-1785
Although England refuses to send an ambassador to the U.S., John Adams is sent as the American ambassador to Britain. He will spend the next three years trying without success to settle problems regarding the existence of a string of British forts along the Canadian border, pre-war debts owed to British creditors, post-war American treatment of Loyalists, and the closing of the West Indian colonies to American trade.
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8-5-1785
Congress passes the Land Ordinance of 1785 which divides the northwest territories into townships, each set at 6 square miles, subdivided into 36 lots of 640 acres each, with each lot selling for no less than $640.
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Summer of 1786
Americans suffer from post-war economic depression including a shortage of currency, high taxes, nagging creditors, farm foreclosures and bankruptcies.
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August 22-25, 1786
Angry representatives from 50 towns in Massachusetts meet to discuss money problems including the rising number of foreclosures, the high cost of lawsuits, heavy land and poll taxes, high salaries for state officials, and demands for new paper money as a means of credit.
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31-8-1786
In Massachusetts, to prevent debtors from being tried and put in prison, ex-Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays, who is now a bankrupt farmer, leads an armed mob and prevents the Northampton Court from holding a session.
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20-9-1786
In New Hampshire, an armed mob marches on the state assembly and demands enactment of an issue of paper money.
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26-9-1786
Shays' rebels, fearing they might be charged with treason, confront 600 militiamen protecting the state Massachusetts Supreme Court session in Springfield and force the court to adjourn.
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20-10-1786
Congress authorizes Secretary of War Henry Knox to raise an army of 1340 men over concerns of the safety of the federal arsenal at Springfield, Mass.
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26-12-1786
Shays assembles 1200 men near Worcester, Mass. and heads toward Springfield. Massachusetts Governor, Bowdoin, then orders mobilization of a 4400 man force.
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26-1-1787
Shays' rebels attack the federal arsenal at Springfield but are unsuccessful. Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, then arrives with reinforcements from Boston to pursue the rebels.
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21-2-1787
Amid calls for a stronger central government, due in part to Shays' Rebellion, Congress endorses a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia, beginning in May.
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25-5-1787
With 29 delegates from nine states present, the constitutional convention begins in the state house (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. A total of 73 delegates have been chosen by the states (excluding Rhode Island) although only 55 will actually attend. There are 21 veterans of the Revolutionary War and 8 signers of the Declaration of Independence. The delegates are farmers, merchants, lawyers and bankers, with an average age of 42, and include the brilliant 36 year old James Madison, the central figure at the convention, and 81 year old Ben Franklin. Thomas Jefferson, serving abroad as ambassador to France, does not attend.

The delegates first vote is to keep the proceedings absolutely secret. George Washington is then nominated as president of the constitutional convention.
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19-6-1787
Rather than revise the Articles of Confederation, delegates at the constitutional convention vote to create an entirely new form of national government separated into three branches
the legislative, executive and judicial
thus dispersing power with checks and balances, and competing factions, as a measure of protection against tyranny by a controlling majority.
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13-7-1787
Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance which establishes formal procedures for transforming territories into states. It provides for the eventual establishment of three to five states in the area north of the Ohio River, to be considered equal with the original 13. The Ordinance includes a Bill of Rights that guarantees freedom of religion, the right to trial by jury, public education and a ban on slavery in the Northwest.
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16-7-1787
At the constitutional convention, Roger Sherman proposes a compromise which allows for representation in the House of Representatives based on each state's population and equal representation for all of the states in the Senate. The numerous black slaves in the South are to counted at only three fifths of their total number. A rough draft of the constitution is then drawn up.
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6:10 August 1787
Items in the draft constitution are debated including the length of terms for the president and legislators, the power of Congress to regulate commerce, and a proposed 20 year ban on any Congressional action concerning slavery.
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17-9-1787
Thirty nine delegates vote to approve and then sign the final draft of the new Constitution.
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September 19, 1787
For the first time the proposed Constitution is made public as printed copies of the text are distributed. A storm of controversy soon arises as most people had only expected a revision of the Articles of Confederation, not a new central government with similarities to the British system they had just overthrown.
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27-10-1787
The Federalists, who advocate a strong central government and approval of the new Constitution, begin publishing essays in favor of ratification. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the total number of articles will eventually reach 85 and be compiled and published as the Federalist Papers. Federalist Papers at Library of Congress
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7-12-1787
Delaware is the first of the nine states needed to ratify the Constitution.

To be followed by: Pennsylvania (12-12-1787) New Jersey (18-12-1787) Georgia (2-1-1788) Connecticut (9-1-1788) Massachusetts (7-2-1788) Maryland (28-4-1788) South Carolina (23-5-1788) and New Hampshire (21-6-1788).
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6-2-1788
Anti-Federalists in Massachusetts, led by Sam Adams and John Hancock, favor a more decentralized system of government and give their support to ratification of the Constitution only after a compromise is reached that amendments will be included which guarantee civil liberties.
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27-2-1788
In Massachusetts, following an incident in which free blacks were kidnapped and transported to the island of Martinique, the Massachusetts legislature declares the slavery trade illegal and provides for monetary damages to victims of kidnappings.
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24-3-1788
In Rhode Island, the Constitution is rejected by a popular referendum. The state, fearful of consolidated federal power, had refused to send a delegation to the constitutional convention in Philadelphia and had subsequently rejected a state convention to consider ratification.
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2-6-1788
In Virginia, anti-Federalist forces, led by Patrick Henry and George Mason, oppose ratification of the Constitution. They are joined by Richard Henry Lee who calls for a bill of rights and a lower house set up on a more democratic basis.
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25-6-1788
In Virginia, the Federalists, led by James Madison, finally prevail as ratification of the Constitution (with a proposed bill of rights and 20 other changes) is endorsed by a close vote of 89 to 75.
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2-7-1788
A formal announcement is made by the president of Congress that the Constitution of the United States is now in effect, having been ratified by the required nine states.
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26-7-1788
The state of New York votes 30 to 27 to endorse ratification while also recommending a bill of rights be included.
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13-9-1788
New York City is chosen by Congress to be the temporary seat of the new U.S. government.
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October-December
Commodity prices stabilize, spurring economic recovery and a gradual return to pre-war levels of prosperity.
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23-12-1788
Maryland proposes giving a 10 square-mile area along the Potomac River for the establishment of a federal town to be the new seat of the U.S. government.
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23-1-1789
Georgetown University, the first Catholic college in the U.S., is founded by Father John Carroll.
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30-4-1789
On the balcony of New York's Federal Hall, George Washington, at age 57, is sworn in as the first President of the United States. He then enters the Senate chamber to deliver his inaugural address.
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4-7-1789
Congress passes its first tax, an 8.5 percent protective tax on 30 different items, with items arriving on American ships charged at a lower rate than foreign ships.
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14-7-1789
In France, the French Revolution begins with the fall of the Bastille in Paris, an event witnessed by the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson.
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20-7-1789
Congress passes the Tonnage Act of 1789 levying a 50 cents per ton tax on foreign ships entering American ports, 30 cents per ton on American built but foreign owned ships, and 6 cents per ton on American ships.
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25-9-1789
Congress submits 12 proposed constitutional amendments to the states for ratification. The first ten will be ratified and added to the Constitution in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.
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29-9-1789
The U.S. Army is established by Congress. Totaling 1000 men, it consists of one regiment of eight infantry companies and one battalion of four artillery companies.
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1-3-1790
A Census Act is passed by Congress. The first census, finished on Aug. 1, indicates a total population of nearly 4 million persons in the U.S. and western territories. African Americans make up 19 percent of the population, with 90 percent living in the South. Native Americans were not counted, although there were likely over 80 tribes with 150,000 persons. For white Americans, the average age is under 16. Most white families are large, with an average of eight children born. The white population will double every 22 years.
The largest American city is Philadelphia, with 42,000 persons, followed by New York (33,000) Boston (18,000) Charleston (16,000) and Baltimore (13,000). The majority of Americans are involved in agricultural pursuits, with little industrial activity occurring at this time.
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17-4-1790
Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at age 84. His funeral four days later draws over 20,000 mourners.
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4-7-1790
Jefferson submits to Congress his Report on the Subject of Measures, Weights, and Coins, an effort to establish uniform standards for coinage and weight measures. Jefferson is particularly excited by the discovery that the established weight for the American version of the Spanish dollar equals an ounce. He develops an ideal system of equivalencies between money and weight standards, but it is at odds with that of Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton, whose proposal is based on current business practices
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10-7-1790
The House of Representatives votes to locate the national capital on a 10 square-mile site along the Potomac, with President George Washington choosing the exact location.
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15-2-1791
Jefferson sends President George Washington, his Opinion of the Constitutionality of the Bill for Establishing a National Bank. Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton argues that the Constitution provides implied powers to establish a Bank. Jefferson disagrees, and he sees Hamilton's plans for a national bank, the development of manufactures, and other related financial policies as creating conditions for the accumulation of the kind of power and corruption identified with the courts and monarchies of Europe.
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1792
Fall. In one of the first openly partisan electoral contests, George Clinton is supported by Jefferson's allies for the office of governor of New York, while Hamiltonians support John Jay. Clinton wins. Officials canvassing votes void some of those for Jay.
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1793
Cotton Gin invented November 16. Jefferson writes to Eli Whitney, telling him that he approves of his efforts to win a patent for his cotton gin. Jefferson to Eli Whitney, November 16, 1793.

- Fugitive Slave Act passed
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28-4-1793
As Secretary of State, Jefferson writes an opinion for President Washington arguing that acceptance of the new French minister to the United States, Edmond Genet, is an acceptance of the new revolutionary government in Paris, led by the Girondins. Jefferson argues that the current French government is continuous with that of Louis XVI, with which the United States made a formal treaty of alliance in 1778 during the American Revolution.
Hamilton argues that the treaty and diplomatic relationship were with the monarchy of Louis XVI and ended when Louis was dethroned, imprisoned, and executed on 21-1-1793, and that the relationship must be renegotiated.
Democratic-Republican clubs, that have sprung up in the United States in support of France. Genet plans to appeal to Americans over the head of President Washington. Jefferson concludes that he has gone too far.
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1793
In mid-August, the Jacobins gain control of the French government and many Girondists are imprisoned. Although recalled, Genet, a Girondin, dares not return to France, and he eventually receives asylum in the United States, settles on a farm in upstate New York, and marries Cornelia Clinton, the daughter of Governor George Clinton.
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1795
Bowdoin College founded – became a center for Abolitionist movements; Gen. Howard (Howard University) graduated; Harriet Beecher Stowe taught there and she began to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin there (in 1850)
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1795
- October.
James Madison visits Monticello to discuss the Jay Treaty with Jefferson. They are both opposed to its ratification. The treaty, negotiated with Great Britain by John Jay, addresses issues left unresolved since the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution.
The Jay Treaty provides for compensation to British creditors from American debtors, many of whom are Virginians, and it arranges for the evacuation of British troops still occupying northwestern posts in the United States. However, it fails to address the all-important issue of American trading rights, especially in the British West Indies, and leaves the problem of the impressment of American seamen by the British navy unresolved.
The treaty is immensely unpopular and furthers the development of party politics. The Senate narrowly ratifies it in April 1796.
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7-12-1796
John Adams is elected second president of the U.S. Jefferson is elected vice president, having received the second largest number of electoral votes.
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4-3-1797
Adams inaugurated as President
Jefferson is inaugurated as vice president of the United States and begins gathering information on rules of parliamentary practice. As vice president, Jefferson presides over the Senate.
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1798
June-July. Congress passes what are collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts, the Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, the Sedition Act, and the Alien Enemies Act, are passed in the midst of a quasi-war with France and heightened public criticism of foreign policy.
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1799
Jefferson leaves Philadelphia for Monticello, arriving there on the 8th.
Throughout the coming year he devotes himself to Monticello's development. On his way to Philadelphia in November, he visits the new federal city, Washington, D.C., which he plays a key role in designing. (Temple of Liberty: Building the Capitol for a New Nation, Library of Congress Exhibitions)
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14-12-1799
George Washington dies at Mount Vernon.
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Sources:
* The History Place http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/rev-early.htm

* http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1700_1800_timeline.htm

* Other Sources

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