AMERICAN REVOLUTION

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1765-1800

1765 Stamp Act is passed by British Parliament and King George III

British Parliament (and King George III) passes the Stamp Act, which was a tax on all legal documents. The tax was supposed to fund the army of 10,000 Red Coats stationed in the colonies.
A prelude to organized colonial opposition to British rule, the Stamp Act Congress, with representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies, was held in New York City in 1765.
It was decided that British goods would be boycotted until the Stamp Act was repealed. "BETTER TO WEAR HOMESPUN COAT THEN LOSE OUR LIBERTY". It was, in fact, repealed, but substituted by other taxes on English goods. Since the British economy suffered, those taxes were also lifted, except for the tax on tea.
The Stamp Act Congress which took place in New York resulted in the Declaration of Rights and Grievances - "no taxation without representation".

1776 Declaration of Independence is adopted

On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress announced that the thirteen American colonies, already at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as 13 newly independent sovereign states, and not a part of the British Empire. The formal declaration, which came to be known as the Declaration of Independence, is drafted in Philadelphia by Thomas Jefferson.
Thousands of menacing British troops on ships were already amassing in the New York harbor in order to suppress the revolt. On July 9th, George Washington reads the newly written Declaration of Independence to his troops. After hearing the Declaration, the inspired crowds rush down Broadway to Bowling Green and pull down the equestrian statue of King George. The American Revolution has started; the lead from the king’s statue is to be used to make musket balls to fight the king’s soldiers.
By 1776, the population of New York had reached 20,000, and the city extended for about a mile.

1775-1783 American Revolutionary War

In order to put down the rebellion, King George III puts together an army of 32,000 soldiers - the largest force the British had ever sent outside of Europe.
The American army is headed by General Washington; the English, much superior army and navy, is led by the brothers Howe.
General Howe, the commander of British forces, focuses on capturing New York City. Howe's forces arrive at Staten Island on June 30, 1776, and capture it without resistance.
In the Battle of Brooklyn, the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army lead by Washington is badly defeated. Washington realizes that his army has no chance against the British on the battlefield, and decides that it's more important to save the rest of his army rather than try to defend Manhattan.
During the night Washington secretly evacuates the entire army across the East River to Manhattan without loss of a single life. The army retreats all the way north, giving up New York to the British who occupy all of present day New York until the end of the war.
It is not clear if it was done by the patriots or by accident, but in September 1776 Manhattan suffered a devastating fire which burned down almost quarter of the city.

1783 End of Revolutionary war

After the Continental Army, with help from the French and the Dutch, defeats the British, England is forced to recognize the independence of the 13 colonies. American War for Independence ends with the Peace Treaty of 1783, also known as The Paris Peace Treaty.
After 7 years of war, George Washington returns to New York, triumphantly leading the Continental Army through the city.
He bids farewell to the troops in Fraunces Tavern, declares himself a private citizen and leaves the city for Mount Vernon.
Washington had the wisdom to give up power when he could have been crowned a king. His intention was never again to serve in public life. This one act, without precedent in modern history, made him an international hero.

1785 NYC becomes the first capital of new nation from 1785 to 1790

In 1785, the assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York the national capital. New York remains the capital for 5 years.
The Constitution of the United States went into effect in 1789 which means that New York was the capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation, and the first of the US under the Constitution of the United States.

1789 George Washington elected president

George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, is unanimously elected the first president of the United States.
The Congress sends a word to George Washington that he had unanimously won the presidency. On April 30, he comes across the Hudson River in a specially built and decorated barge.
The inaugural ceremony is performed on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street to the cheers of a large crowd. The president then retires indoors to read Congress his inaugural address, a quiet speech in which he spoke of "the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people."
In 1792, George Washington was unanimously reelected, but four years later refused a third term.

1790 The capital moves to Philadelphia

New York was a capital of United States from 1785 to 1790. In 1790 capital is temporarily moved to Philadelphia.
Southerners, Thomas Jefferson among them, insisted that Nation's Capital should be built a new and should be located on Potomac.

1792 Stock Market is established

The New York Stock Exchange is established in 1792. When faced with cut rate competition from a group of powerful government bond merchants, 24 brokers sign the document known as Buttonwood Tree Agreement. The agreement states that members would trade only with each other and would charge fixed 0.25% commission rate.
The brokers gathered to trade in front of 68 Wall Street under the huge Sycamore (known in the vernacular as a Buttonwood Tree), which gave the document its name.
A year later the organization moved indoors, to the Tontine Coffee House, but unless the weather was particularly vile, trading itself still took place outdoors.

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