Second Continental Congress declares independence

Howe forces Washington to retreat from New York and New Jersey

Pennsylvania approves democratic state constitution

John Adams publishes Thoughts on Government

Articles of Confederation create central government

Howe occupies Philadelphia (September)

Gates defeats Burgoyne at Saratoga (October)

Franco-American alliance (February)

Lord North seeks political settlement

Congress rejects negotiations

British adopt southern strategy

British capture Savannah (December)

Severe inflation of Continental currency

British and American forces battle in Georgia

Clinton seizes Charleston (May)

French troops land in Rhode Island

Cornwallis invades Virginia (April), surrenders at Yorktown (October)

States finally ratify Articles of Confederation

Treaty of Paris (September 3) officially ends war

Congress enacts political and land ordinances for new states

Nationalists hold convention in Annapolis, Maryland

Shays’s Rebellion roils Massachusetts

Congress passes Northwest Ordinance

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia

Jay, Madison, and Hamilton write The Federalist

Eleven states ratify U.S. Constitution