From 1783 to 1800, Philadelphia was the capital of the New Nation (except for 1789-1790 in New York), and the great issues that faced the country also centered in the Keystone State. Two problems both existing governments struggled to solve were promotion of the general welfare–especially economic prosperity– and opening the west to settlement.
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Bring this subject into focus through the following chapters. These stories take exploration of the main story further by providing more detail for you to learn and explore.
Take your students back in history with these discussions and activities for the classroom
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1782 |
Pennsylvania secures its northeastern borders when Congress awards it lands previously claimed by Connecticut. |
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1783 |
The Peace of Paris ends the Revolutionary War. |
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1783 |
The Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army mutinies and then chases Congress out of Philadelphia. Congress did not return to the city until 1785. |
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1784 |
Pennsylvania forces New York Iroquois to give up all claims to territories within the state. |
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1784 |
American soldiers recruited to fight off Indian attacks in Pittsburgh revolt against their officers. |
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1785 |
The Commonwealth begins the distribution of 600,000 acres of newly acquired "donation" lands to pay veterans for their services during the Revolutionary War. |
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1786 |
Pennsylvania settles its southwestern border disputes with Virginia. |
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1787 |
Fifty-five delegates from twelve states (the exception being Rhode Island) convene at the Pennsylvania State House and draft a new federal Constitution. |
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1787 |
Richard Allen and Absalom Jones help form The Free African Society in Philadelphia. |
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1789 |
George Washington is elected President of the United States. |
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1790 |
Little Turtle and 150 Miami, Wabash, and Shawnee warriors defeat Pennsylvania troops under the command of General Josiah Harmer in the Ohio Valley. |
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1790 |
Federalists replace the problematic 1776 Pennsylvania state constitution with a more traditional frame of government. |
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1791 |
Founding of the First Bank of the United States, in Philadelphia. |
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1791 |
The devastating defeat of General Arthur St. Clair and his 2,100 troops defeated by Indians near present-day Fort Recovery, Ohio, opens western Pennsylvania to Indian attack. |
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1792 |
Purchase of the Erie Triangle extends Pennsylvania to its current boundaries. |
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1792 |
George Washington is re-elected as President of the United States. |
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1792 |
Pennsylvania Federalists persuade the state to authorize private funding for the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, redirecting commerce with western Pennsylvania that would have otherwise gone to Baltimore. |
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1793 |
The Genet Mission to Philadelphia increases tensions between Republicans and Federalists after war breaks out between England and France. |
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1794 |
Western Pennsylvania farmers begin armed resistance to the federal excise tax on distilling and sale of alcohol in what becomes known as the Whiskey Rebellion. |
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1794 |
General Anthony Wayne's victory against Ohio Valley Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in present day Indiana ends the threat of Indian return to western Pennsylvania. |
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1794 |
Dedication of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the nation's first African-American church. |
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1795 |
The Pinckney Treaty with Spain opens the Mississippi River to American commerce and fuels the growth of Pittsburgh. |
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1796 |
John Adams is elected President of the United States. |
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1797 |
President John Adams and his Federalist government authorize the creation of an American Navy, starting with the frigate USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides," which is constructed in Philadelphia. |
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1798 |
Passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts enables the federal government to deport undesirable aliens and imprison critics of federal officials and policies. |
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1799 |
The death of former President George Washington. |
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1799 |
Russian prince-priest Demetrius Gallitzin founds Loretto, a Catholic colony, in Cambria County. |
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1799 |
The state capital moves from Philadelphia to Lancaster. |
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1799 |
"Fries Rebellion," a protest against federal property taxes in southeastern Pennsylvania, is suppressed by the Pennsylvania militia. |
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1800 |
Pennsylvania Governor Thomas McKean threatens to send Pennsylvania militia to install Thomas Jefferson as President of the United States, if the electoral college votes in favor of John Adams. |
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1800 |
National capital moves from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. |
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1805 |
German pietists form the Harmony Society in Butler County, Pennsylvania. |
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Historical Markers In the Story
Original Documents