1783.  
Washington’s army had lain in camp at Newburg, N. Y., since the surrender of Cornwallis. The Preliminary treaty of peace was signed Jan. 20th, at Paris; but it was not officially announced in the camp at Newburg, until April 19th; just eight years from the Battle of Lexington that commenced it!
July—Congress prepared to disband the army, and Washington to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief.
” 21—The great difficulty Congress had to contend with was raising money to pay the troops. Congress had no authority, under the Confederation, to lay taxes or impose duties. It exhausted its own credit in the issue of paper money which soon became of little value. It made some foreign loans, and persuaded the States, which alone could lay taxes, to raise a small sum. But this did not suffice to pay the army at last. There was much suffering and discontent.
On this day a body of soldiers, in large part new recruits, who had comparatively little to complain of, without muskets, but wearing side arms, beset the doors of Congress in Philadelphia, for three hours. No violence was offered. Congress adjourned to Princeton, N. J.
Sept. 3—The final and definite Treaty of Peace between England, France, and the United States, in which the independence of the latter was acknowledged, its boundaries defined, and various matters of interest arranged to the profit of the United States, was signed at Paris.
Nov. 2—A proclamation is issued by Congress for disbanding the army.
” 25—The British troops evacuate New York, and it is occupied by American troops under Gen. Knox.
Dec. 4—Long Island and Staten Island abandoned by the British. Washington takes leave of his officers, at New York.
” 25—He resigns his commission to Congress, in a public audience, given him at Annapolis, Md., where Congress was then sitting, and goes home to Mt. Vernon.
C?sar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, died this year.
1784.
 
The want of public credit was very much felt. There was no authority sufficient to raise money to meet the interest, even, on the debt; and this produced great distress.
[607]
Nov. 1—The Continental Congress meets at Trenton, N. J. Richard Henry Lee, of Va., is chosen President.
Oct. 4—A treaty with the Six Nations, who had sided with the British during the war, was made at Ft. Schuyler (formerly Ft. Stanwix—now Utica, N. Y.).
Commerce begins to revive. Reciprocity treaties were made, and trade with eastern Asia commenced this year by a voyage to China, from New York.
1785.
 
Jan.—Congress adjourns to New York, where it continued to hold its sessions for some years.
Mar. 10—Thomas Jefferson appointed to fill the place of Franklin, as Minister to France; Franklin wishes to return home. He had been there nine years.
July—Commercial treaties negotiated with Prussia, Denmark, Portugal, and Tuscany.
The treaty with Prussia stipulated that, in case of war between that country and the United States, there should be no privateering.
” 13—Stephen Hopkins, of R. I., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, died.
” 28—Wm. Whipple, of N. H., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, died.
” ”—Treaties made with the Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws.
1786.
 
Financial troubles were now approaching a crisis. In 1784-5 the importations from England had amounted to $30,000,000. The exportations to only $9,000,000. Paper money was depreciated so much as to be of little value. Debt oppressed government and people; want of vigorous authority was everywhere felt; and many disorders in Tennessee, Kentucky and elsewhere, begin to threaten the internal peace of the country.
June 19—Gen. Nathaniel Greene, an able commander in the Revolutionary armies, died. He manouvered against Cornwallis in North and South Carolina with great ability.
Dec. 5—Shay’s Rebellion broke out in Mass. That State wished to raise money to aid Congress in paying the interest on the federal debt. The people felt unable to pay it. They mobbed the courts but were dispersed by troops under Gen. Lincoln. Three were killed and one wounded, in an attack the insurgents made on an arsenal. There was little other fighting. Fourteen persons were tried and condemned to death but afterwards pardoned.
1787.
 
These and other events convinced the people that an important change in the government was necessary. It became clear that a vigorous central authority, alone, could answer the purpose. The States were nearly independent[608] of each other; but this produced conflicts and want of harmony, which nearly ruined them all.
A congress of deputies to consider commercial questions, called by Va. had, in Sept., 1786, recommended a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation.
Feb. 2—The Continental Congress assembled, electing Gen. St. Clair, President.
” 12—Congress approves the call for a Constitutional Convention.
May 25—The convention assembled in Philadelphia, and elected Gen. Geo. Washington, President.
July 11—The Continental Congress organize the Northwest Territory—north of the Ohio river. Preparations were immediately made for settling it.
Sept. 28—The Constitution, as signed by the members of the convention, laid before Congress, which sends it to the State Legislatures for approval.
Arthur Middleton of S. C., and Thomas Stone of Md., signers of the Declaration of Independence, died, Jan. 1st and Oct. 5th, respectively.
Dec. 7—Delaware ratifies the Constitution.
” 12—Pennsylvania accepts the Constitution.
1788.
 
July 4—The anniversary of Independence is kept with great display, in Philadelphia, in special honor of the adoption of the new Constitution.
By the close of July nine more States had ratified the Constitution, and it went into operation.
Sept. 13—Congress selects the first Wednesday of Jan. (1789) for the appointment of Presidential electors; the first Wednesday in February for their appointment of President and Vice-President; and March 4th (the first Wednesday that month) for the new government to go into operation.
1789.
 
Jan. 4—Thomas Nelson, of Va., signer of the Declaration of Independence, died.
Feb. 13—Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame, died.
April 30—Washington inaugurated as first President.
May 12—A Tariff Bill for raising a revenue reported in Congress. This became a law, and went into effect Aug. 1st, 1789.
” 20—The Department of Foreign Affairs (afterwards called State Department,) organized.
The Treasury Department is next established, followed by the War Department, to which the Navy was joined for the present.
The Judiciary was then constituted. Salaries, and the rules for parliamentary procedure were determined. The Postmaster general[609] had long been an officer of the government, and required less change than most of the others. This made a very busy session. Congress also passed a resolution to add ten amendments to the Constitution—which were submitted to the States and afterward ratified. Congress adjourned the last of September.
The democratic tone of the government, and the spirit applied to the interpretation of the Constitution by the first Congress, has generally prevailed ever since. That tone and spirit were truly republican.
Nov. 8—The President made a tour through New England.
” 13—North Carolina ratified the Constitution.
Many Indian treaties were made this year.
1790.
 
Jan. 8—Congress reassembled. This session was scarcely inferior in interest and importance to the first from the variety of new questions required to be settled, and the more perfect development given to former ones.
Feb. 8—Provision was made for payment of the foreign debt.
Mar. 1—An act ordering a census to be taken was passed.
” 24—A naturalization law was originated.
Apr. 15—A patent law was constructed.
” 30—Treason was defined and the penalty determined on.
May 29—The Constitution ratified by Rhode Island; making up the whole number of thirteen States.
” 31—“An act to encourage learning” secured copyrights to authors.
July 16—Three very exciting debates that had occupied much of the time of Congress, had a bearing on the location of the National Capital, which was this day permanently settled. The President was authorized to determine the site on the Potomac, and have the buildings erected so as to be ready for occupation in 1800. Agreeably to this act Maryland and Virginia ceded the District of Columbia to the United States.
Gen. Putnam, a brave Revolutionary soldier, Benjamin Franklin, of Pa., Wm. Hooper, of N. C., and Francis Hopkinson, of N. J., all except Putnam signers of the Declaration of Independence, died this year.
The Territory South of the Ohio was organized this year. The financial system of the country was established, the slavery question debated and settled in accordance with the compromise of the Constitution, and the State debts transferred to the United States.
Aug. 12—Congress adjourned to meet next in Philadelphia and thereafter until 1800.
” 13—A treaty with the Creek Indians solemnly ratified by Washington.
[610]
Dec. 6—The Third Session of Congress commenced. The President congratulates Congress on the improvement of the finances, and the prosperity of the country.
1791.
 
Feb.—The United States Bank established. It was to have a capital of $10,000,000—its charter to run twenty years.
” 4—Kentucky voted admission into the union in the next year (Jan. 1st, 1792).
” 18—Vermont having (Jan. 20th) ratified the Constitution and asked admission into the union, it is granted this day. The immediate prosperity that followed the adoption of the Constitution of 1787, the strength, vigor, and moderation seen to be combined in its arrangement of the government, led most of the States to remodel their State Constitutions on it, in a short time.
July—The subscription to the stock of the National Bank is all taken in a few hours after the books are opened.
Aug.—Great Britain first sends a minister to the United States Government.
Sep. 17—An expedition of 2,000 troops, under Gen. St. Clair, starts from Ft. Washington against the Indians in the Northwest Territory.
Nov. 4—Gen. St. Clair is surprised and defeated by the Indians. There were 600 killed—the whole loss amounted to upward of 900. Several other smaller expeditions had been sent against the Indians in the course of the year. One, Gen. Harmer’s, had been defeated. Internal taxes on spirits were first commenced this year. Benj. Harrison, of Va., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, died this year. A voyage around the world, by way of Oregon, China, and the Cape of Good Hope, had opened wide fields to commerce. The first census was now completed. The Second Congress, assembled at Philadelphia, Oct. 24, was occupied in arranging the new ratio of Representatives. It was a very difficult matter to settle from the sectional struggles that entered into the question.
1792.
 
Feb. 16—A bounty for fishing vessels provided.
” 20—The Post Office Department reorganized.
Apr. 2—The establishment and regulations of the U. S. Mint are embodied in a law.
” 14—Act apportioning Representatives passed. This gave the next House of Representatives in Congress 105 members.
May 8—Laws organizing the Militia are passed.
Dec. 8—Henry Laurens, first President of the Continental Congress, died. The second presidential election this year resulted in the re-election of Washington and Adams. Washington received all the electoral votes—the anti-federalists opposing only Mr. Adams,[611] whose electoral vote was 77, the candidate of the opposition receiving 50. Much seditious opposition was made in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to the excise law,—the tax on spirits. The President issued a proclamation against them, Sept. 29th.
1793.
 
Jan. 24—The proclamation of the French Republic is greeted in Boston with a celebration in its honor. The close and friendly relations of the United States with France, arising from their aid to us in the Revolutionary War, led the French minister, Genet, to a course of conduct inconsistent with the existence of our friendly relations with England. The U. S. Government decided to proclaim neutrality—the people sympathized strongly with France. Washington and his cabinet pursued a strict neutral course, in which the people finally acquiesced, and Genet’s recall was solicited and obtained.
Feb. 12—A Fugitive Slave law passed.
July 23—Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence, died.
Oct. 8—John Hancock, of Mass., the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, died. This year laid the foundation of the policy of neutrality or non-interference with the European wars, that became the settled policy of the United States.
The year was also distinguished by the violence of party feeling.
Dec. 2—Congress assembles at Philadelphia.
” 31—Jefferson resigns his seat in the Cabinet. He was Secretary of State.
1794.
 
Mar. 11—An act is passed for building four ships of war, which laid the foundation of our present navy.
Some hostile English “Orders in Council” led to arrangements for fortifying the harbors of the country.
” 22—The Slave trade is regulated by law, no American vessel being allowed to supply slaves to another nation. The importation of slaves into this country had been allowed until the year 1808, by Art. 1st, Sec. 9th, of the Constitution.
” 26—As a retaliation on the British “Orders in Council” for seizing all goods going to France in American vessels, an embargo was laid on all shipping which was continued 60 days. This stopped all commerce for the present.
June 5—A law relating to neutrality passed in Congress.
” 19—Richard Henry Lee, of Va., died; Abraham Clark, of N. J., and John Witherspoon, of N. J., later, all signers of the Declaration of Independence, died.
July 16—An insurrection breaks out against the excise law in western Pennsylvania, by an armed attack on the officers of the law. An[612] army of 15,000 men was raised and marched into that region, the appearance of which immediately restored order.
Aug. 20—Gen. Wayne inflicts a thorough chastisement on the Indians of Ohio, on the Maumee river.
Nov. 4—Congress again assembles.
” 28—Baron Steuben, a German, who had done us great service as an officer in the Revolutionary war, died, aged 61.
1795.
 
This year a commercial treaty was negotiated with England, which was the cause of violent demonstrations of the two parties. Only the firmness and moderation of Washington and his supporters saved the country from war with that power.
Jan. 23—Gen. Sullivan died. He had been an able Maj. Gen. in the Revolutionary war.
” 29—A more stringent naturalization law passes.
May 19—Josiah Bartlett, of N. H., signer of the Declaration of Independence, died.
Aug. 3—A Treaty with the Northwestern Indians concluded, which closed the Indian war.
Sept 5—A treaty is concluded with Algiers, which closed a war with those pirates, whose attacks had been so disastrous to our commerce.
Oct 20—A treaty of boundaries, and which opened the Mississippi to navigation, is concluded with Spain.
Dec. 7—The fourth Congress meets.
1796.
 
March 24—The U. S. House of Representatives require the President to send them the papers relating to the British treaty. The President declines, denying that they form part of the treaty making power.
April 30—The exciting struggle on the British treaty is closed, by a provision made by the House of Representatives for carrying it into effect.
June 1—An act is passed admitting Tennessee into the union.
” 29—A new treaty is made with the Creek Indians, and the Southern, as well as the Northern Indians, are pacified.
Sept. 19—Washington’s Farewell address is issued, to let the people know that he would not accept office again. A presidential election was held this autumn, in which John Adams was elected President. Serious difficulties began to rise with France, which took great offense at the treaty with Great Britain.
1797.
 
Feb. 3—Mr. Pinckney, American Minister to France, was refused a reception, by the French government, and obliged this day to leave the country. Much violence was done about this time, to American commerce, by the French.
[613]
Mar. 4—John Adams is inaugurated President of the United States.
” 25—A special session of Congress is called to consider the threatening posture of our relations with France.
June 14—Congress imposed a fine of $10,000 and ten years imprisonment on any American who should engage in privateering, in any way, against a nation with whom we were at peace.
July 3—The President transmits to Congress information of Spanish troubles on the southern and western frontier. These were afterwards discovered to have aimed at detaching the Mississippi and Ohio valleys from the United States, and erecting them into an independent power, in close alliance ............