A Republic in Motion

Working timeline · five provisional consequence bands

From contested empire to constitutional settlement

Events occupy separate horizontal lanes under the explicitly provisional legacy assessment. All five tiers are shown by default; these values are research hypotheses, not canonical judgment or label priority. The mandates line distinguishes congressional presiding officers from presidents of the United States.

Active Y assessment: provisional legacy tiers. Canonical editorial assessment v1 has not been assigned; film attention and label visibility are separate variables.

WarPolitics and lawDiplomacy, land, and economySociety and ideasOrganization and government
Parliament passes the Stamp ActDestruction of the tea in BostonCoercive Acts remake government in MassachusettsFirst Continental CongressLexington and ConcordSecond Continental Congress assemblesCongress creates the Continental ArmyCongress appoints Washington commander in chiefDunmore offers freedom to enslaved people who join the CrownThomas Paine publishes Common SenseCongress recommends independent colonial governmentsRichard Henry Lee moves for independenceVirginia adopts its Declaration of RightsCongress adopts the Declaration of IndependenceCongress debates the Articles of ConfederationBurgoyne's army surrenders at SaratogaFrance and the United States sign treaties of amity and allianceCornwallis surrenders at YorktownTreaty of Paris recognizes United States independenceConstitutional Convention signs the United States ConstitutionNew Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the ConstitutionEnslaved people launch the revolution in Saint-DomingueBill of Rights is ratifiedHouse resolves the election of 1800 and power transfers to Jefferson
Jumonville Glen skirmishTreaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' WarNative war challenges British occupationRoyal Proclamation regulates western settlementDeclaratory Act asserts parliamentary supremacyTownshend Revenue ActBoston MassacreMassachusetts Provincial Congress assumes authorityContinental Association creates an enforcement networkNew England militia begins the siege of BostonAmerican forces capture Fort TiconderogaBattle of Bunker HillCongress agrees to and signs the Olive Branch PetitionCongress explains why the colonies have taken up armsGeorge III declares the colonies in open rebellionCongress launches an invasion of CanadaParliament passes the Prohibitory ActAmerican assault on Quebec failsSmallpox devastates the American army in CanadaContinental forces fortify Dorchester HeightsBritish forces evacuate BostonCongress opens American ports to world tradeVirginia instructs its delegates to propose independenceCongress appoints the committee to draft a declarationBritish forces assemble at New YorkCherokee war expands across the southern backcountryBattle of Long IslandContinental Army evacuates BrooklynBritain occupies New York CityBattle of Valcour IslandFort Washington fallsContinental Army retreats across New JerseyPaine publishes The American Crisis, No. IWashington's forces cross the DelawareBattle of TrentonCongress grants Washington temporary emergency powersThe Continental Army shifts toward longer serviceBattle of PrincetonWashington orders systematic smallpox inoculationBattle of OriskanyBritish forces occupy PhiladelphiaBattle of Bemis HeightsContinental Army enters Valley ForgeSpain enters the war against BritainSullivan–Clinton campaign destroys Haudenosaunee towns and food storesPennsylvania adopts gradual abolitionCharleston surrenders to British forcesArticles of Confederation take effectBritish evacuations carry Loyalist and Black refugees from the United StatesWashington confronts the officers' movement at NewburghWashington resigns his military commissionMassachusetts insurgents close courts in Shays' RebellionUnited Indian Nations demand confederated diplomacyConfederation Congress adopts the Northwest OrdinanceWashington is inaugurated as first presidentCongress funds federal debt and assumes state war debtsNorthwestern Confederacy destroys St. Clair's armyCongress enacts the Fugitive Slave ActNorthwestern Confederacy fights at Fallen TimbersTreaty of Greenville follows defeat of the Northwestern ConfederacyFederalist Congress enacts the Alien and Sedition ActsGabriel and fellow conspirators plan an uprising in Virginia
Albany CongressBraddock's army is defeated on the MonongahelaBritish victory at QuebecSugar Act strengthens imperial revenue enforcementVirginia Resolves contest parliamentary taxationBoston crowd forces stamp distributor to resignStamp Act CongressParliament repeals the Stamp ActBritish troops land in BostonSomerset v Stewart limits forced removal from EnglandBoston creates a committee of correspondenceParliament passes the Tea ActPhillis Wheatley's Poems is published in LondonPhillis Wheatley writes to Samson OccomEnslaved Massachusetts petitioners claim a natural right to freedomParliament declares Massachusetts in rebellionGage declares martial law and offers pardonsWashington takes command at CambridgeRoyal Navy burns FalmouthAmerican forces capture MontrealBattle of Great Bridge drives royal forces from Virginia’s mainlandNorfolk burns amid British bombardment and Patriot destructionPatriots defeat Loyalists at Moore’s Creek BridgeBattle of Sullivan's IslandNew Yorkers hear the Declaration and pull down the king’s statueStaten Island Peace ConferenceBritish landing at Kip's BayBattle of Harlem HeightsGreat Fire of New YorkBattle of White PlainsContinental forces abandon Fort LeeSoldiers extend enlistments after TrentonForage War in New JerseyAmericans evacuate Ticonderoga and Mount IndependenceBattle of BenningtonBattle of BrandywineBattle of Freeman's FarmBattle of GermantownSteuben begins systematic training at Valley ForgeBattle of MonmouthBritish forces capture SavannahBattle of CamdenAndré is captured and Arnold's West Point plot is exposedPatriot militia defeat Ferguson at King's MountainBattle of CowpensBattle of Guilford CourthouseUnited States commissioners impose the Treaty of Fort StanwixFederalist and Republican opposition hardens into a party systemFederalized militia suppress western whiskey resistanceUnited States and Britain sign the Jay TreatyNew Jersey election law names women as votersWashington leaves the presidency after two terms
Washington surrenders Fort NecessityBritain formally declares war on FranceJames Otis argues against writs of assistanceThomas Gage arrives as royal governorPowder Alarm mobilizes the Massachusetts countrysideRevere and Dawes carry the alarmJane McCrea is killed and becomes a Patriot symbolFranco-American campaign culminates in the Battle of Rhode IslandFranco-American assault on Savannah failsContinental Army endures the Morristown winterTarleton's force defeats Buford at the Waxhaws
Franklin publishes “Join, or Die”
Peyton RandolphSeptember 5–October 22, 1774Henry MiddletonOctober 22–26, 1774Peyton RandolphMay 10–24, 1775John HancockMay 24, 1775–October 31, 1777Henry LaurensNovember 1, 1777–December 9, 1778John JayDecember 10, 1778–September 27, 1779Samuel HuntingtonSeptember 28, 1779–March 1, 1781Samuel HuntingtonMarch 2–July 6, 1781Thomas McKeanJuly 10–October 23, 1781John HansonNovember 5, 1781–November 3, 1782Elias BoudinotNovember 4, 1782–November 3, 1783Thomas MifflinNovember 3, 1783–November 30, 1784Richard Henry LeeNovember 30, 1784–November 4, 1785John HancockNovember 23, 1785–June 5, 1786Nathaniel GorhamJune 6, 1786–February 2, 1787Arthur St. ClairFebruary 2–October 5, 1787Cyrus GriffinJanuary 22, 1788–March 2, 1789George WashingtonApril 30, 1789–March 4, 1797John AdamsMarch 4, 1797–March 4, 1801

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The line changes office in 1781 and again in 1789. A president of Congress under the Articles was a presiding officer, not an early president of the United States. Short mandates are widened visually; hover or focus for exact dates.

Congressional mandate source · U.S. presidential dates source

Open the chronological text index
  1. · Tier 5 · Franklin publishes “Join, or Die”
  2. · Tier 2 · Jumonville Glen skirmish
  3. · Tier 3 · Albany Congress
  4. · Tier 4 · Washington surrenders Fort Necessity
  5. · Tier 3 · Braddock's army is defeated on the Monongahela
  6. · Tier 4 · Britain formally declares war on France
  7. · Tier 3 · British victory at Quebec
  8. · Tier 4 · James Otis argues against writs of assistance
  9. · Tier 2 · Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War
  10. · Tier 2 · Native war challenges British occupation
  11. · Tier 2 · Royal Proclamation regulates western settlement
  12. · Tier 3 · Sugar Act strengthens imperial revenue enforcement
  13. · Tier 1 · Parliament passes the Stamp Act
  14. · Tier 3 · Virginia Resolves contest parliamentary taxation
  15. · Tier 3 · Boston crowd forces stamp distributor to resign
  16. · Tier 3 · Stamp Act Congress
  17. · Tier 2 · Declaratory Act asserts parliamentary supremacy
  18. · Tier 3 · Parliament repeals the Stamp Act
  19. · Tier 2 · Townshend Revenue Act
  20. · Tier 3 · British troops land in Boston
  21. · Tier 2 · Boston Massacre
  22. · Tier 3 · Somerset v Stewart limits forced removal from England
  23. · Tier 3 · Boston creates a committee of correspondence
  24. · Tier 3 · Parliament passes the Tea Act
  25. · Tier 3 · Phillis Wheatley's Poems is published in London
  26. · Tier 1 · Destruction of the tea in Boston
  27. · Tier 3 · Phillis Wheatley writes to Samson Occom
  28. · Tier 1 · Coercive Acts remake government in Massachusetts
  29. · Tier 4 · Thomas Gage arrives as royal governor
  30. · Tier 3 · Enslaved Massachusetts petitioners claim a natural right to freedom
  31. · Tier 4 · Powder Alarm mobilizes the Massachusetts countryside
  32. · Tier 1 · First Continental Congress
  33. · Tier 2 · Massachusetts Provincial Congress assumes authority
  34. · Tier 2 · Continental Association creates an enforcement network
  35. · Tier 3 · Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion
  36. · Tier 4 · Revere and Dawes carry the alarm
  37. · Tier 1 · Lexington and Concord
  38. · Tier 2 · New England militia begins the siege of Boston
  39. · Tier 2 · American forces capture Fort Ticonderoga
  40. · Tier 1 · Second Continental Congress assembles
  41. · Tier 3 · Gage declares martial law and offers pardons
  42. · Tier 1 · Congress creates the Continental Army
  43. · Tier 1 · Congress appoints Washington commander in chief
  44. · Tier 2 · Battle of Bunker Hill
  45. · Tier 3 · Washington takes command at Cambridge
  46. · Tier 2 · Congress agrees to and signs the Olive Branch Petition
  47. · Tier 2 · Congress explains why the colonies have taken up arms
  48. · Tier 2 · George III declares the colonies in open rebellion
  49. · Tier 2 · Congress launches an invasion of Canada
  50. · Tier 3 · Royal Navy burns Falmouth
  51. · Tier 1 · Dunmore offers freedom to enslaved people who join the Crown
  52. · Tier 3 · American forces capture Montreal
  53. · Tier 3 · Battle of Great Bridge drives royal forces from Virginia’s mainland
  54. · Tier 2 · Parliament passes the Prohibitory Act
  55. · Tier 2 · American assault on Quebec fails
  56. · Tier 3 · Norfolk burns amid British bombardment and Patriot destruction
  57. · Tier 1 · Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
  58. · Tier 3 · Patriots defeat Loyalists at Moore’s Creek Bridge
  59. · Tier 2 · Smallpox devastates the American army in Canada
  60. · Tier 2 · Continental forces fortify Dorchester Heights
  61. · Tier 2 · British forces evacuate Boston
  62. · Tier 2 · Congress opens American ports to world trade
  63. · Tier 1 · Congress recommends independent colonial governments
  64. · Tier 2 · Virginia instructs its delegates to propose independence
  65. · Tier 1 · Richard Henry Lee moves for independence
  66. · Tier 2 · Congress appoints the committee to draft a declaration
  67. · Tier 1 · Virginia adopts its Declaration of Rights
  68. · Tier 3 · Battle of Sullivan's Island
  69. · Tier 2 · British forces assemble at New York
  70. · Tier 2 · Cherokee war expands across the southern backcountry
  71. · Tier 1 · Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence
  72. · Tier 3 · New Yorkers hear the Declaration and pull down the king’s statue
  73. · Tier 1 · Congress debates the Articles of Confederation
  74. · Tier 2 · Battle of Long Island
  75. · Tier 2 · Continental Army evacuates Brooklyn
  76. · Tier 3 · Staten Island Peace Conference
  77. · Tier 2 · Britain occupies New York City
  78. · Tier 3 · British landing at Kip's Bay
  79. · Tier 3 · Battle of Harlem Heights
  80. · Tier 3 · Great Fire of New York
  81. · Tier 2 · Battle of Valcour Island
  82. · Tier 3 · Battle of White Plains
  83. · Tier 2 · Fort Washington falls
  84. · Tier 3 · Continental forces abandon Fort Lee
  85. · Tier 2 · Continental Army retreats across New Jersey
  86. · Tier 2 · Paine publishes The American Crisis, No. I
  87. · Tier 2 · Washington's forces cross the Delaware
  88. · Tier 2 · Battle of Trenton
  89. · Tier 2 · Congress grants Washington temporary emergency powers
  90. · Tier 3 · Soldiers extend enlistments after Trenton
  91. · Tier 2 · The Continental Army shifts toward longer service
  92. · Tier 2 · Battle of Princeton
  93. · Tier 3 · Forage War in New Jersey
  94. · Tier 2 · Washington orders systematic smallpox inoculation
  95. · Tier 3 · Americans evacuate Ticonderoga and Mount Independence
  96. · Tier 4 · Jane McCrea is killed and becomes a Patriot symbol
  97. · Tier 2 · Battle of Oriskany
  98. · Tier 3 · Battle of Bennington
  99. · Tier 3 · Battle of Brandywine
  100. · Tier 3 · Battle of Freeman's Farm
  101. · Tier 2 · British forces occupy Philadelphia
  102. · Tier 3 · Battle of Germantown
  103. · Tier 2 · Battle of Bemis Heights
  104. · Tier 1 · Burgoyne's army surrenders at Saratoga
  105. · Tier 2 · Continental Army enters Valley Forge
  106. · Tier 1 · France and the United States sign treaties of amity and alliance
  107. · Tier 3 · Steuben begins systematic training at Valley Forge
  108. · Tier 3 · Battle of Monmouth
  109. · Tier 4 · Franco-American campaign culminates in the Battle of Rhode Island
  110. · Tier 3 · British forces capture Savannah
  111. · Tier 2 · Spain enters the war against Britain
  112. · Tier 2 · Sullivan–Clinton campaign destroys Haudenosaunee towns and food stores
  113. · Tier 4 · Franco-American assault on Savannah fails
  114. · Tier 4 · Continental Army endures the Morristown winter
  115. · Tier 2 · Pennsylvania adopts gradual abolition
  116. · Tier 2 · Charleston surrenders to British forces
  117. · Tier 4 · Tarleton's force defeats Buford at the Waxhaws
  118. · Tier 3 · Battle of Camden
  119. · Tier 3 · André is captured and Arnold's West Point plot is exposed
  120. · Tier 3 · Patriot militia defeat Ferguson at King's Mountain
  121. · Tier 3 · Battle of Cowpens
  122. · Tier 2 · Articles of Confederation take effect
  123. · Tier 3 · Battle of Guilford Courthouse
  124. · Tier 1 · Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown
  125. · Tier 2 · British evacuations carry Loyalist and Black refugees from the United States
  126. · Tier 2 · Washington confronts the officers' movement at Newburgh
  127. · Tier 1 · Treaty of Paris recognizes United States independence
  128. · Tier 2 · Washington resigns his military commission
  129. · Tier 3 · United States commissioners impose the Treaty of Fort Stanwix
  130. · Tier 2 · Massachusetts insurgents close courts in Shays' Rebellion
  131. · Tier 2 · United Indian Nations demand confederated diplomacy
  132. · Tier 2 · Confederation Congress adopts the Northwest Ordinance
  133. · Tier 1 · Constitutional Convention signs the United States Constitution
  134. · Tier 1 · New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution
  135. · Tier 2 · Washington is inaugurated as first president
  136. · Tier 2 · Congress funds federal debt and assumes state war debts
  137. · Tier 1 · Enslaved people launch the revolution in Saint-Domingue
  138. · Tier 3 · Federalist and Republican opposition hardens into a party system
  139. · Tier 2 · Northwestern Confederacy destroys St. Clair's army
  140. · Tier 1 · Bill of Rights is ratified
  141. · Tier 2 · Congress enacts the Fugitive Slave Act
  142. · Tier 3 · Federalized militia suppress western whiskey resistance
  143. · Tier 2 · Northwestern Confederacy fights at Fallen Timbers
  144. · Tier 3 · United States and Britain sign the Jay Treaty
  145. · Tier 2 · Treaty of Greenville follows defeat of the Northwestern Confederacy
  146. · Tier 3 · New Jersey election law names women as voters
  147. · Tier 3 · Washington leaves the presidency after two terms
  148. · Tier 2 · Federalist Congress enacts the Alien and Sedition Acts
  149. · Tier 2 · Gabriel and fellow conspirators plan an uprising in Virginia
  150. · Tier 1 · House resolves the election of 1800 and power transfers to Jefferson