The Federalist

1780-1789

• The Federalist, a series of essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Kay urges voters to approve the U.S Constitution, 1787-1788.

The Federalist Papers were written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution.

In total, the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America.


Source: http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/

French War

• French revolution begins, 1789.

 

George Washington

• George Washington inaugurated as first president under U.S constitution, 1789.

 

 

 

American Revolutionary war ends

• American Revolutionary war ends as British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, October 1781, peace treaty signed, 1783.

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies on the North American continent.

Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy coastal cities. In early 1778, France entered the war against Britain; Spain and the Netherlands joined as allies of France over the next two years. French involvement proved decisive, with a French naval victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a British army at Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.

Source: http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/

 

Declaration of Independence

• Second continental Congress adopts Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress, states the reasons the British colonies of North America sought independence in July of 1776.The declaration opens with a preamble describing the document's necessity in explaining why the colonies have overthrown their ruler and chosen to take their place as a separate nation in the world.

All men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the people to overthrow that government.The King of Great Britain, George III, is guilty of 27 specific abuses. The King interfered with the colonists' right to self-government and for a fair judicial system.

The colonial governments tried to reach a peaceful reconciliation of these differences with Great Britain, but were continually ignored. Colonists who appealed to British citizens were similarly ignored, despite their shared common heritage and their just cause. After many peaceful attempts, the colonists have no choice but to declare independence from Great Britain.

The new nation will be called the United States of America and will have no further connections with Great Britain.

American Revolution

• First shots of American Revolution fired at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, April 19, 1775.

 

The Battle of Lexington and Concord was made up of two battles that began on April 18th, 1775. British troops were sent to Concord to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, but both men had been warned about the British attack. The night of April 18th, Paul Revere rode through Concord warning everybody about the British attack. So when the British came in to take and attack the Rebels, the Minutemen, Americans who were"ready to fight in a minute," were waiting to attack at Lexington. The Americans were withdrawing when someone fired a shot, and the British troops started to fire at the Minutemen. The British then charged with bayonets. Nobody knows who shot first.

"Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they want a war let it begin heres" said Captain John Parker, commander of the Minutesmen.

After this fight, the British found out that Hancock and Adams had escaped. So the British marched towards Concord looking for ammunition. As the British went to look at a nearby farm for weapons, they ran into a group of minutemen at Concord's North Bridge. There was a big fight, and the Minutemen made the British retreat. The Minutemen tried not to let the British retreat, but the retreat was successful.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were battles that took many lives. By the end of the day, British troops had lost 273 soldiers, while the Colonists lost only 94. 18 of these Colonists had died during the battle at Lexington. The Revolutionary War had begun.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous poet, called the Battle of Lexington "the shot heard 'round the world," because this battle began the Revolutionary War. His poem is on a monument by Concord's North Bridge.

Boston Tea Party

• Boston Tea Party occurs in Boston Harbor, 1775.

 

 

1773, Britain passed the Tea Act. By this Act, about 17 million pounds of surplus tea (assets of the East India Company, India) was proposed to be sold in America, by under selling it. Since the tea would be sold at an extremely cheap rate by bypassing the traders, the wholesalers in America were going to be seriously affected. For this reason, the Act was fiercely resisted by the colonies. Since British tea was already being boycotted because of the heavy duties on it, the Act in America was seen as a bribe from the British Authorities. In Boston, the opposition against the Tea Act took a dramatic form. Here some men dressed as Indians boarded a ship containing tea, at the Harbor and dumped the entire consignment into the sea. This incident is known as the Boston Tea Party. While the people in Boston rejoiced, the British Parliament passed certain laws to punish the colony. They passed what the colonists popularly called the Intolerable Acts in 1774. Under these Acts, the Boston port was closed until due compensation was paid to the government (London) for the lost tea. Further, the British troops were re-stationed in the city.

 

 

 

John Woolman

• John Woolman publishes two antislavery essays, 1754, 1763.

John Woolman was a Quaker minister and prophet who deeply understood the relationship of Divine connection with human action. Woolman's analyses of the roots of social evil carefully trace individual responsibility from motive to action, and follow the ever-widening consequences of that action. The `how' of social change is one of Woolman's greatest concerns; and the methods he suggests, springing from a right relationship to God, emphasize nonviolence and express love that encompasses both the wrongdoer and the wronged.

Woolman felt that slaveholding was inconsistent with Christianity and spent his life travelling, observing and advocating against slavery.

Woolman began to question and speak out against slavery while working as a scribe. His employer instructed him to write the bill of sale for a slave. Despite being troubled by this Woolman wrote the bill of sale "but at the executing of it I was so afflicted in my mind, that I said before my master and the Friend that I believed slave-keeping to be a practice inconsistent with the Christian religion" (Woolman's Journal, p. 15).

French and Indian war

• French and Indian war officially ends as British gain control of most French North American territory, 1763.

 

 

The French and Indian Wars were also known as the Seven Years War. The war lasted

 

about seven years. The result of the wars was the Treaty of Paris. This is a treaty of peace and alliance between Britain and France. Here is a translated piece of this treaty.

"In the name of the Very Holy one & Indivisible Trinitè, Father, Wire, & Holy Spirit. Thus is it. That is to say notorious with All Those, which it will belong or can belong, of unspecified Manner."

A result of this treaty was that France lost Canada to Britain. They also lost all land to the east of the Mississippi River.

 

The last of the Mohicans

This is a movie that takes place in 1757 during the French and Indian war, when France and Great Britain battler for control of the North American colonies. Here is the official trailer:

 

 

Patrick Henry

1770-1779

• Patrick Henry demands liberty from British rule, at the Virginia Convention, 1775

To avoid interference from Lieutenant-Governor Dunmore and his Royal Marines, the Second Virginia Convention met March 20, 1775 inland at Richmond--in what is now called St. John's Church--instead of the Capitol in Williamsburg. Delegate Patrick Henry presented resolutions to raise a militia, and to put Virginia in a posture of defense. Henry's opponents urged caution and patience until the crown replied to Congress' latest petition for reconciliation.

"Give me liberty or give me death!"



Ann Franklin

• Benjamin Franklin's sister-in-law Anne Franklin becomes first woman printer in New England, 1762.

Franklin became the official printer in Rhode Island colony in 1736, and her business produced numerous legal documents, government publications, and pamphlets, as well as the colony's paper money and ballots for the election of 1744. Between 1728 and 1735, Franklin published a series of almanacs written by Joseph Stafford. For the next five years, she published a set of almanacs she had written herself. In 1745, Franklin began printing an edition of the laws of the General Assembly, which eventually numbered 340 pages, for the government of Rhode Island.

Franklin was eulogized as a woman who "by her Economy and Industry in carrying on the Printing Business supported herself and Family."





Source: http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=WBL039&DataType=Women&WinType=Free

Beginnings to the 1800's

1750-1769

• Benjamin Franklin's experiments with a kite and a key prove that lightning is a manifestation of electricity, 1752.

 

Benjamin Franklin and his son attached a kite to a silk string, tying an iron key at the other end. Next, they tied a thin metal wire from the key and inserted the wire into a Leyden jar, a container for storing an electrical charge. Finally, as the sky darkened and a thunderstorm approached, they attached a silk ribbon to the key. Holding onto the kite by the silk ribbon, Ben flew the kite and once it was aloft, he retreated into a barn so that he would not get wet. The thunder storm cloud passed over Franklin's kite, whereupon the negative charges in the cloud passed onto his kite, down the wet silk string, to the key, and into the jar. Ben however, was unaffected by the negative charges because he was holding the dry silk ribbon, insulating him from the charges on the key. When he moved his free hand near the iron key, he received a shock. Why? Because the negative charges in the key were so strongly attracted to the positive charges in his body, a spark jumped from the key to his hand. Franklin's experiment successfully showed that lightning was static electricity.

 

 

Source: http://www.codecheck.com/cc/BenAndTheKite.html