1600 - 1800
1620 The Pilgrims sail from England to Cape Cod on the Mayflower.
1630-40 The Puritans keep arriving in New England and spreading through the Massachusetts Bay Colony and beyond.
1633 First school in the North American colonies is founded in New Amsterdam.
1636 Roger Williams founds Rhode Island.
1692 Witchcraft trails held in Salem, Massachusetts.
1705 1705 The Virginia Black Code is passed, defining slaves as property, not people.
1760 George III becomes King of England.
1762 Jean-Jacques Rousseau publishes LE CONTRACT SOCIAL, which contains the opening sentence "Man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains" and the slogan "liberty equality and fraternity."
1765 The Stamp Act forces colonies to pay taxes on printed matter.
1765 The Sons of Liberty are formed, in opposition to taxation without representation.
1766 British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
1767 British Parliament passes the Townshend Acts, which tax tea and other goods.
1770 The Boston Massacre -- five Americans are killed.
1773 The Boston Tea Party
1773-4 Britain blockades Boston harbor.
1774 The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia to protest and petition George III.
1775 The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
1775 Washington is named commander-in-chief of the American forces.
1775 Britain declares war on the colonies.
1775 The Battle of Bunker Hill takes place in Boston.
1775 The Wilderness Road open to pioneers.
1776 Tom Paine publishes COMMON SENSE.
1776 The Declaration of Independence is adopted in Philadelphia.
1777-8 The Americans winter at Valley Forge.
1781 The French fleet and American troops defeat the British at Yorktown. The war is over.
1781 Congress adopts its first constitution, the Articles of Confederation.
1783 Britain recognizes American independence.
1787 The Constitutional Convention adopts a new Constitution. Slavery is officially recognized in it.
1788 The Constitution is ratified by three-quarters of the states and becomes law.
1789 George Washington is elected the first president of the United States.
1789 The French Revolution begins.
1790 James Madison writes the first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.
1790 Potomac River site is picked for the new capital city.
1790 Benjamin Franklin dies.
1790 The first United States census is conducted.
1791 Samuel Slater's spinning mill starts up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1792 Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin.
1796 John Adams is elected the second president of the United States.
1797 The first copper pennies are minted in England.
1798 Congress passes the Alien and Sedition acts.
1799 George Washington dies.
1800 Thomas Jefferson is elected the third president of the United States.
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