 USA had been keen to buy this land, concerned about the prospect of Napoleonic territory on their doorstep, but until now France had been reluctant to sell.
1/3/1803. Ohio became the 17th State of the USA.
16/3/1802. The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York State, was founded.
17/7/1801, A squadron of the US Navy under Richard Dale was blockading Tripoli in protest at pirate attacks on US shipping.
5/7/1801, David Farragut, US naval hero of the Civil War, was born in Tennessee.
14/5/1801, Pasha Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli declared war on the USA.
17/1/1800, Caleb Cushing, US statesman, was born in Massachusetts.
9/2/1799, The US navy clashed with French forces.
1/6/1796. Tennessee became the 16th State of the USA.
2/11/1795, James Polk, American Democrat and 11th President, was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
1794, The US passed the Flag Act, stipulating that for each new State that joined, another star and strip would be added to the US flag. See 1818.
29/7/1794, Thomas Corwin, US politician, was born.
27/3/1794. The US Navy was officially created. Before this day the American Congress had only fitted out civilian ships for hostilities as required, but now it was decided a permanent navy was necessary.
15/12/1793, Henry Charles Carey, US economist, was born (died 1879).
8/10/1793, John Hancock, US politician, the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence, died.
18/9/1793, The cornerstone of the north section of the Capitol Building, Washington DC, was laid by President Washington.
22/4/1793, US President Washington issued a Declaration of Neutrality in the Napoleonic War. Hamilton wanted him to support the British but Jefferson wanted him to support the French.
5/4/1793, William Thornton’s plans for the building of the Capitol, Washington DC, were accepted.
2/3/1793, Sam Houston, American soldier and first President of Texas, was born.
13/10/1792, The cornerstone of the US President’s official residence, The White House in Washington DC, designed by James Hoban, was laid.
5/8/1792 , Lord North, British Conservative and Prime Minister from 1770-82, died. His indecision led to Britain’s loss of its North American colonies.
4/8/1792, John Burgoyne, British General who had to surrender at Saratoga in 1777 in the War of American Independence to American General Gates, died.
1/6/1792, Kentucky became the 15th State of the Union.
2/4/1792. The Mint of the United States was established at Philadelphia, then the national capital. The US mint struck its first silver dollars.
1791, The US passed the Fifth Amendment. This protects against self-incrimmination, but during the Cold War anti-Communist investigations ‘taking the fifth’ became virtually an admission of guilt.
15/12/1791, The US Bill of Rights was ratified by all the states, Virginia being the last State to sign. The US passed the First Amendment which protected free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the Government.
5/7/1791. The first British Ambassador to the US, George Hammonds, was appointed.
4/3/1791. Vermont became the 14th State of the USA.
1790, The Revenue Marine, now the US Coastguard, was established, to curtail smuggling.
21/12/1790, American industrialist Samuel Slater opened the first cotton mill in the USA. The mill had 250 spindles and was powered by water, using a child labour force. Slater had been apprenticed to William Arkwright, from whom he learnt the textiles trade.
1/8/1790. The first census in the USA revealed a population of nearly 4 million.
16/7/1790, Washington DC was established as the seat of US Federal government.
29/5/1790, Rhode Island became the 13th State of the Union; it is the smallest State in the USA.
17/4/1790. Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia, aged 84. He invented the life-saving lightning conductor. He was determined to pursue Puritan aims to the benefit of the common good. He also helped draft the Declaration of Independence.
10/4/1790, The US Congress inaugurated the American patent system.
1/2/1790, The US Supreme Court