"So strong us this propensity of mankind, to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions, and excite their most violent conflicts." James Madison, Federalist No. 10

Thomas Nast In 1637, Puritan reformist preacher Anne Hutchinson is tried in Massachusetts Bay Colony as a heretic, found guilty and banished. In 1775, Major General Philip Schuyler writes Washington with triumphant news: Fort St. Jean has fallen. Schuyler forwards General Richard Montgomery’s report that the British garrison surrendered on November 3. “I beg leave to congratulate you on this happy event,” Schuyler writes. In 1786, The oldest performing musical organization in

"It is impossible to read the history of the petty republics of Greece and Italy without feeling sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were kept in a state of perpetual vibration between the extremes of tyranny and anarchy." Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper No. 9

"Safety from external danger, is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war; the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty, to repost for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, t

Everett Massacre - 1916 In 1639, First post office in the colonies is set up in Massachusetts. In 1733, Printer and journalist John Peter Zenger publishes the first issue of New York Weekly Journal. After attacks on the colonial governor landed him in jail for libel, a jury acquitted him—a first win for press freedom in the English colonies. In 1773, John Hancock is elected as moderator at a Boston town meeting that resolves that anyone who supports the Tea Act is an "Enemy t

...America, if not connected at all, or only be the feeble tie of a simple league, offensive and defensive, would by the operation of such opposite and jarring alliances be gradually entangled in all the pernicious labyrinths of European politics and wars; and by the destructive contentions of the parts, into which she was divided, would be likely to become prey to the actives and machinations of powers equally the enemies of them all. Divide et impera must be the moto of eve

"Has it not, on the contrary, invariably been found, that momentary passions, and immediate interests, have a more active and imperious control over him conduct, than general or remote considerations of policy, utility, or justice?" Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #6

Boston Female Medical College In 1623, Fire at Plymouth, Massachusetts, destroys several buildings. In 1683, The English crown colony of New York is subdivided into 12 counties. In 1765, The Stamp Act went into effect, marking the first British parliamentary attempt to raise revenue through direct taxation of all American colonial commercial and legal papers. In 1777, the USS Ranger , with a crew of 140 men under the command of John Paul Jones , leaves Portsmouth, New Hampsh

"Let candid men judge, then, whether the division of America into any given number of independent sovereignties would tend to secure us against the hostilities and improper interference of foreign nations." John Jay, Federalist Papers #5

"But the safety of the people of America against dangers from FOREIGN force depends not only on their forbearing to give JUST causes of war to other nations, but also on their placing and continuing themselves in such a situation as not to INVITE hostility or insult; for it need not be observed that there are PRETENDED as well as just causes of war." John Jay, Federalist Paper #4

War of the Worlds 1938 In 1775, Officers have begun recruiting soldiers without proper authorization. Washington orders that all unauthorized enlistments stop immediately and emphasizes that commissions in the new army will be based on merit, not recruitment numbers. In 1776, in his first speech  before British Parliament  since the leaders of the American Revolution  came together to sign the Declaration of Independence  that summer, King George III  acknowledges that all wa

"If they see that our national government is efficient and well administered, our trade prudently regulated, our militia properly organized and disciplined, our resources and finances discreetly managed, our credit re-established, our people free, contented, and united, they will be much more disposed to cultivate our friendship than provoke our resentment." John Jay, Federalist Paper #4

In 1766, St. Paul's Chapel in New York is consecrated. It is the oldest surviving church in Manhattan. In 1775, In a letter to John Hancock, Washington warns that a third to half of his officers, especially captains and below, plan to leave service when their enlistments expire. He expresses “great anxieties” but hopes that increased pay and a sense of patriotism will persuade soldiers to remain. In 1864, the town of Helena, Montana, is founded  by four gold miners who struck

So if you haven't noticed a pattern is emerging.... "Because when once an efficient national government is established, the best men in the country will not only consent to serve, but also will generally be appointed to manage it; for, although town or country, or other contracted influence, may place men in State assemblies, or senates, or courts of justice, or executive departments, yet more general and extensive reputation for talents and other qualifications will be neces

Jane Toppan In 1682, The founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, landed at what is now Chester, Pa. In 1775, Four hundred miles from Washington’s Cambridge headquarters, Lund Washington, the general’s cousin and farm manager, writes a detailed letter from Mount Vernon. Lund is doing all he can to safeguard Washington’s papers, land, and debts while planning how to defend Mount Vernon in case of a British attack. He proposes erecting a battery along the Potomac River to stop en

"Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers." John Jay, Federalist Paper No. 2

Boston Proclamation In 1636, Harvard University , the oldest institute of higher learning in the United States, was founded by the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . In 1646, First Protestant church assembly for American Indians established in Massachusetts. In 1726, Gulliver’s Travels" is first published. In 1775, British General William Howe's Proclamation ordered the City of Boston closed. Under this proclamation no person was allowed to leave the ci

"It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force." Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper 1

In 1659, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, two Quakers  who came from England in 1656 to escape religious persecution, are executed  in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for their religious beliefs. The two had violated a law passed by the Massachusetts General Court the year before, banning Quakers from the colony under penalty of death. In 1682, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is founded by Englishman William Penn. In 1775, In the Canadian wilderness, Benedict Arnold writes

Marine Corps Barracks Bombing Lebanon In 1684, English King Charles II revokes the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter due to repeated violations of the charter’s terms including trading with other countries and running an illegal mint. In 1694, American colonial forces, led by Sir William Phipps, fail to seize Quebec. In 1775, The Congressional Committee meeting with General Washington agreed to accept the Penobscot, Stockbridge, and St. John's Indian tribes offers of assistanc

In 1746, Princeton University received its charter. It was originally named the College of New Jersey located in Elizabeth. It moved to Princeton, NJ in 1756 and was renamed in 1896. In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first popularly elected president of the Republic of Texas, taking over from interim president David Burnet.  In 1875, Sons of American Revolution organizes. In 1879, Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb. In 1883, Original M