The American Revolution: A Timeline

1776

January: colonial governments begin to debate independence
January: Crown hires 20,000 mercenaries from German states
January 10: publication of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
March-April: Carroll publishes “CX” articles, calling for full independence and a new, three-branch republican government and constitution to be written ASAP
March-June: First American diplomatic mission (Carroll, Carroll, Franklin, and Chase) fails to form alliance with Canada
March 5: Americans besiege Boston
April 6: SCC declares complete free trade with world (except Britain) and suspends slave trade
May 2: French begin lending money to Americans
May 10: SCC, under John Adam’s insistence, encourage colonies to write new constitutions
May-July: several large colonies begin to declare independence, call on SCC to do the same
June 10: SCC creates committee (Jefferson) to write Declaration of Independence
June 12: SCC appoints Dickinson to write Articles of Confederation
June 24: SCC calls for confiscation of Loyalist property
June 28: South Carolinians resist British attempt to take Charlestown
July 2: SCC declares full independence as “United Colonies”
July 4: SCC adopts Declaration of Independence
August 2: SCC signs Declaration of Independence
August 27: Washington defeated at Battle of Long Island
September 9: SCC replaces “United Colonies” with “United States” in DOI
September 15: British take NYC
November: Burke and Rockingham openly and formally secede from Parliament
December 26: Washington defeats British at Trenton, NJ; takes 1,000 German POWs

1777

January 3: Washington defeats British at the Battle of Princeton
January 16: Vermont secedes from NY
January 16: State of PA ends slavery; implements full universal white male suffrage
April 21: SCC declares full sovereignty of each individual state
July: Vermont declares all slavery illegal
July 23: Brits defeat Washington at Battle of the Brandywine
September 25: First attempt to take out Washington in SCC (Thomas Conway)
October 7: SCC declares each state to have one vote in SCC
October 17: Burgoyne surrenders to Horatio Gates at Saratoga
December 18: Washington retreats to Valley Forge; begins long winter there

1778

February 6: France and U.S.A. begin to treat as friends; France recognizes American independence, breaks off relations with Britain
March 6: South Carolina re-denies Catholics right to vote or hold office
March 16: House of Commons repeals all laws against America should America sue for peace. North knows Britain can’t win; king refuses to back down.
April 22: SCC declares no treaty with Britain unless Britain recognizes full American independence
May 4: SCC formally ratifies treaty with France
May 10: Pitt the Elder dies
June: Though only 10 of the 13 states have ratified the Articles, SCC acts as though it is the de facto Constitution
July 3: Loyalist/Indian militias massacre frontier families in Wyoming Valley, PA
December: Jefferson’s bill for universal public schooling fails in Virginia

1779

February 25: George Rogers Clarke captures Vincennes
May 10: British capture Norfolk, VA
June 21: Spain declares war on Britain; aids Americans indirectly
July 15: Americans take Stony Point, NY
September 13: President of SCC sends circular letter to each state, calling for a permanent nation rather than a mixing of autonomous states
September 23: John Paul Jones leads successful naval battle near coast of England

1780

May 12: British capture Charleston
August 16: British defeat Americans at Camden, SC
September 6: SCC calls on all states to give up western claims to national domain
September 25: Benedict Arnold flees to Britain
October: Hartford Convention calling for the creation of a nation state; Hamilton and Morris author “Continentalist Letters”
October 7: Nathanael Greene victory over British at Kings Mountain, NC

1781

January 2: SCC demands that Virginia give all her land to the U.S.
January 17: American victory at Cowpens, NC
February 12: Spanish forces capture British fort, St. Joseph, present-day Niles, Michigan
February 27: last of the states to ratify, Maryland ratifies the Articles
March 1: Articles of Confederation become U.S. Constitution
May 26: Congress forms first national bank
June 11: Congress forms a “Peace Commission” to treat with U.K.
October 18: Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown; when North hears the news—”Oh God, it’s all over.”

1782

February 27: Parliament ends all offensive war in U.S.
March 20: North government collapses; Rockingham-Burke take charge
April 12: Parliament desires informal peace talks
April 19: Netherlands recognize America
June 11: Netherlands loans US $2,000,000.
June 20: U.S. adopts Great Seal
September: Rockingham dies; Lord Shelburne takes his place
November 29: U.S. and U.K. Ambassadors reach agreement, conditional upon France’s agreement

1783