The Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was the governing body by which the American colonial governments coordinated their resistance to British rule during the first two years of the American Revolution. The Congress balanced the interests of the different colonies and also established itself as the official colonial liaison to Great Britain. As the war progressed, the Congress became the effective national government of the country, and, as such, conducted diplomacy on behalf of the new United States.

America Declares its Independence

The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress. Following a decade of agitation over taxes and a year of war, representatives make the break with Britain. King George III isn't willing to let his subjects go without a fight, and loyalist sentiment remains strong in many areas. Americans' primary allegiance is to their states; nationalism will grow slowly.

The Treaty of Paris

The American War for Independence (1775-1783) was actually a world conflict, involving not only the United States and Great Britain, but also France, Spain and the Netherlands. The peace process brought a nascent United States into the arena of international diplomacy, playing against the largest and most established powers on Earth.

The three American negotiators – John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay – proved themselves ready for the world stage, achieving many of the objectives sought by the new United States. Two crucial provisions of the treaty were British recognition of U.S. independence and the delineation of boundaries that would allow for American western expansion.

The Establishment of the Department of War

On this date, President George Washington signed into law a bill that established the U.S. War Department. The measure had moved through the First Federal Congress (1789–1791) with relatively little controversy. With Jonathan Trumbull Jr. of Connecticut presiding over the Committee of the Whole, the House debated the authorization bill in late June 1789. Pro-Administration Representative Egbert Benson of New York introduced an amendment to include a phrase to the effect that the War Department secretary would be “removable by the president.” This echoes language that had been included in a much more rancorous debate a few days earlier about the duties and powers of the proposed secretary of foreign affairs (later the secretary of state). Roger Sherman of Connecticut and John Page of Virginia opposed Benson's amendment, but it carried narrowly, 24 to 22. The entire bill passed the House easily on June 27, 1789, with little debate in an unrecorded vote. Soon thereafter, the Senate passed the bill. In choosing the department's first secretary, President Washington preferred continuity. He nominated Henry Knox — a key aide during the American Revolution and, since 1785, the secretary of war under the Articles of Confederation.

The Establishment of the Coast Guard

On Aug. 4, 1790, President George Washington signed legislation establishing a maritime force simply called “the cutters” or “the system of cutters.” Thus was born the United States Revenue Cutter Service, known today as the U.S. Coast Guard.

Congress empowered these cutters to enforce national laws, in particular those dealing with tariffs. This small fleet was the first U.S. naval force available to protect U.S. maritime interests in the early years of the new republic.

The Establishment of the Department of the Navy

As tensions with France prompted greater public support for a strong navy, officials from the Department of War, the Department of Treasury and Congress pressed for the creation of a separate department solely responsible for naval affairs. On April 30, 1798, President John Adams signed a congressional act establishing the Department of the Navy. By the end of 1798, the Navy owned 14 completed vessels and had more under construction. Naval shipyards — such as Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Washington Navy Yard, Boston Naval Shipyard (Charlestown Navy Yard) and New York Navy Yard — sprung up around the turn of the century along important rivers and on the coastlines of major American cities to support increased ship production and to prepare existing ships for combat.

Establishment of the U.S. Military Academy

The United States Military Academy was established in 1802, and West Point had a major role in our nation's history during the American Revolution. Both the American patriots and the British realized the strategic importance of the prominent plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. Gen. George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic location in America and in 1778 selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer, to design the fortifications for West Point. Washington later transferred his headquarters near West Point in 1779. American Continental Line soldiers constructed forts, gun batteries, redoubts and installed a 65-ton iron chain across the Hudson to block British invasions along the river. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British, despite Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold's treasonous attempt to turn over the garrison to the British in 1780. Today, West Point is the oldest continuously occupied regular Army post in the United States.

War of 1812

On June 18, 1812, the United States formally declared war on Great Britain due to that nation's continued attempts to restrict trade on the high seas, the Royal Navy's impressment of American seamen and the United States' desire to expand territory.

The Burning of Washington

Ultimately, the British occupied Washington and burned most of the public buildings, including the War Department, Capitol and White House. The Washington Navy Yard was burned to prevent its capture by the British.

The Treaty of Ghent

Efforts to reach a peace began almost as soon as the war had begun in 1812. Czar Alexander I of Russia had offered his services as mediator, but this was rejected by the British. They instead proposed direct negotiation. James Madison appointed John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and Albert Gallatin as peace commissioners in late 1813, but the delay of distances and the wavering of fortunes in battle prevented the two sides from meeting in serious negotiation until the summer of 1814. The treaty restored Canadian and western U.S. territories to their prewar status quo. Since the war between Britain and France had ended, the wartime restrictions on trade and the impressment of sailors had become irrelevant. The document was ratified by the U.S. Senate in February 1815, making it official.

The Naval School

The Naval School, now known as the Naval Academy, opens in Annapolis, Md., with 50 midshipmen and seven professors.

The Mexican-American War

On May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico, beginning the Mexican-American War. The Mexican-American War is one of the least known pivotal moments in U.S. history. It paved the way for so many other important events, from the expansion and dispossession of indigenous people, the California Gold Rush and American Civil War. It added the states of California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming to the United States. American success in the war solidified belief in the concept of Manifest Destiny, confirming the idea that the United States had been destined by divine entities to expand into a continental empire resembling the present-day nation.

The Naval Academy

In 1850 the Naval School became the United States Naval Academy. A new curriculum went into effect requiring midshipmen to study at the Academy for four years and to train aboard ships each summer. That format is the basis of a far more advanced and sophisticated curriculum at the Naval Academy today. As the U.S. Navy grew over the years, the Academy expanded. The campus of 10 acres increased to 338. The original student body of 50 midshipmen grew to a brigade size of 4,000. Modern granite buildings replaced the old wooden structures of Fort Severn.

The Civil War

As the spring and summer of 1861 wore on, hundreds of thousands of white men, most of them ill-trained and unprepared for war, poured into the armed forces of both sides. Anticipating a day when their services would be accepted, African American men in the North formed military training companies, while women on both sides labored on the home front after their men left for war. Most Americans assumed the war would be over by Christmas, but the bloody battle at Manassas, Va., and the Union naval blockade of the Confederate coastline suggested otherwise. As the conflict extended into 1862, the North and South readied their armies for a longer fight.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is located next to the West Wing, and houses a majority of offices for White House staff. Originally built for the State, War and Navy Departments between 1871 and 1888, the impressive building commands a unique position in both national history and architectural heritage.

The Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spain's colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power. U.S. victory in the war produced a peace treaty that compelled the Spanish to relinquish claims on Cuba, and to cede sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the United States. The United States also annexed the independent state of Hawaii during the conflict. Thus, the war enabled the United States to establish its predominance in the Caribbean region and to pursue its strategic and economic interests in Asia.

The Philippine-American War

After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. On Feb. 4, 1899, just two days before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo, who sought independence rather than a change in colonial rulers. The ensuing Philippine-American War lasted three years and resulted in the deaths of over 4,200 American and over 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine and disease.

The U.S. joins the fight in Europe

World War I, which lasted from July 28, 1914, to Nov. 11, 1918, at one time was known as the Great War or "the war to end all wars" because not many could have imagined an even bloodier global conflict — World War II — would occur just two decades later.

The Truman Doctrine

With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.

The National Security Act

The National Security Act (Public Law 80-253, 61 Statute 495) was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947, while aboard his presidential aircraft.