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
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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.
The Settlement was named "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula" ("El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula"). The community grew over time under the flags of Spain, Mexico and eventually the United States to become the City of Los Angeles, one of the largest metropolitan cities in the world. More
Source: Unknown author - Dating from the era of the Pueblo de Los Angeles, The Plaza and "Old Plaza Church" (Mission Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles) in 1869. There is a square main brick reservoir in the middle of the Plaza at the right, which was the terminus of the town's historic lifeline: the Zanja Madre. The Plaza itself was rounded and turned into a traditional ornate plaza, with a fountain that later became a bandstand. The building in the top right background was the Lugo House: first home to St. Vincent's College (now Loyola Marymount University). They are now a part of Olvera Street.
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).
On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789 thus replacing the existing Articles of Confederation which had been adopted by the Continental Congress on 11/15/1777. Historical Timeline
The Confederation Congress convenes on September 28, 1787 agreeing to submit the new written Constitution to the states for ratification; starting the process to transition the government of the United States to operate under the newly written Constitution. It establishied March 4, 1789, as the date the new government would convene.
On September 13, 1788, the Congress declared that the Constitution had been ratified and set dates for choosing electors, electing the President, and the commencement of the new government. The Confederation Congress continued to operate in New York City until March 2, 1789, just two days before the new government took over. On March 4, 1789, the government officially transitioned, with the new U.S. Congress convening, though a quorum was not officially reached until early April. Historical Timeline
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.
The House of Representatives passed the Judiciary Act on Sept 17, 1789 and the Senate on July 17 1789. The first session of the U.S. Supreme Court was held On February 1, 1790, in New York City’s Royal Exchange Building. More
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
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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.
The First Supreme Court was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, which President George Washington signed into law on September 24, 1789.
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
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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 win the Battle of Muizenberg on September 15, 1795 and capture the Cape Town Colony, ending the Dutch East India Company’s role in the region.
In 1802, they relinquished the colony back to the Dutch with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens but 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.
Washington believed, that the stability of the Republic and the eight year-old Constitution were threatened by the forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference by foreign powers in the nation’s domestic affairs. More
The USS Constellation, the first American warship under the Constitution, is launched on September 7, 1797 in Baltimore, Maryland. The 38-gun frigate was one of the original six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794, it became the first U.S. Navy vessel to capture an enemy ship, defeating the French frigate L'Insurgente in 1799 during the Quasi-War.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, returns to St. Louis after completing their 28-month, 8,000-mile journey to the Pacific Ocean, to explore and map the western portion of the United States.
The explorers were met with a hearty welcome from the town's inhabitants, who gathered to celebrate their safe arrival and the successful completion of the first recorded round-trip overland crossing of North America.