What Happened in September?

The Continental Congress formally declares the name of the new nation to be the “United States” of America, replacing the term “United Colonies.” More

John Paul Jones, commanding the U.S. ship Bonhomme Richard, an armed former French East India Company trading vessel which had been adapted for military use, wins the naval Battle of Flamborough Head, against the British ships of war Countess of Scarborough and Serapis, off the the coast of Yorkshire, England. The Americans suffered approximately 170 casualties, while the British suffered approximately 117 casualties and 2 captured ships. More

Without consulting Abigail, Adams accepts Congress' offer to return to Europe as minister plenipotentiary to negotiate peace with Britain, whenever America's enemy was ready to come to the table. Adams hadn't sought the post, but reveled in Congress' nearly unanimous decision to appoint him. More

Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold turned his back on his country and met secretly with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British, in return for the promise of 20,000 pounds and a British military command for Arnold. More

Los Angeles is founded. A group of settlers consisting of 14 families numbering 44 individuals journeyed more than one-thousand miles across the desert from present-day northern Mexico and established a farming community in the area.  Expand +

The Grand Siege of Gibraltar by the allied French and Spanish fleets is defeated by the British garrison, with all floating batteries destroyed and allied casualties of 1,473 compared to only 83 for the British. More

The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the American Revolutionary War and recognizing the United States as an independent nation. More

The U.S. Constitution is finally accepted and signed The document consisted of a Preamble and seven Articles. Some pointed to the missing bill of rights as a fatal flaw in the new document. A compromised was reached assuring that amendments would be immediately proposed to addressed the need for a bill of rights and the Constitution was signed by 39 of the 42 delegates still present at the convention when it was finished (Governor Edmund Randolph and George Mason, both from Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry from Massachusetts, declined to sign It). Expand +

The First Congress of the United States creates the Department of Treasury, a permanent institution for the management of government finances. Alexander Hamilton served as the first Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795. Hamilton was killed in a duel in 1804. More

Congress formally establishes the office of the United States postmaster. The first postmaster General after the formal establishment of the Postmaster Office was Samuel Osgood. who served from 1789 until 1791. Benjamin Franklin had been previously appointed by the Continental Congress as the first postmaster general in 1775 and served until 1776. Before that Franklin served as deputy postmaster for the Thirteen Colonies since 1753. More

The Judiciary Act of 1789 is signed into law by President George Washington. Officially titled "An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States." Article III of the Constitution established a Supreme Court, but left to Congress the authority to create lower federal courts as needed.  Expand +

The First Congress of the U.S. proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution with its own Preamble. Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures on December 15, 1791. They form what is now referred to as The Bill of Rights.

The United States Congress approves the Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. More

The US Senate approves President George Washington appointments to the first Supreme Court; John Jay to preside as chief justice, and John Blair, William Cushing, Robert Harrison, John Rutledge and James Wilson to be associate justices. Expand +

The First Republic of France is established. At their first meeting, the Convention decides to try King Louis XVI for treason, finds him guilty, and executes him on January 21, 1793. More

The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution begins as the revolutionary government, led by the Committee of Public Safety and Maximilien de Robespierre, executes thousands of perceived enemies of the state, conducts mass arrests, swift trials by the Revolutionary Tribunal, and frequent use of the guillotine. The Terror ended with Robespierre's own execution in Paris on July 28, 1794. More

President George Washington crosses the Potomac to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. The ceremony held in the federal city included the Alexandria Volunteer Artillery, members of Masonic lodges from Virginia and Maryland. and large crowd, with a procession and a Masonic ritual. More

The British capture the Cape Town Colony, ending the Dutch East India Company’s role in the region but relinquished the colony to the Dutch in 1802 with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens. The British reannexed it in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars with the Cape becoming a very important base prior to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. More

George Washington Farewell address to the nation is published. Washington composed his political statement to the nation with the assistance of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. It was designed to inspire and guide future generations, and embodied a classic statement of Federalist doctrine. Expand +

September 20 - After more than two years exploring the western wilderness, the returning Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery arrives at the frontier village of La Charette, in modern Missouri. More