ts of the Revolution were the battles of Lexington and
Concord, April 19, 1775; capture of Ticonderoga, May 10; Bunker Hill,
June 17; unsuccessful attack on Canada, 1775-1776; surrender of Boston,
March 17, 1776; battle of Long Island, August 27; White Plains, October
28; retreat through New Jersey, at the end of 1776; battle of Trenton,
December 26; battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777; Bennington, August
16; Brandywine, September 11; Germantown, October 4; Saratoga, October
7; Burgoyne's surrender, October 17; battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778;
storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779; battle of Camden, August 16,
1780; battle of Cowpens, January 17, 1781; surrender of Cornwallis,
October 19, 1781.

The surrender of Cornwallis terminated the struggle. The peace treaty
was signed in 1783. The financial situation was very deplorable. One of
the greatest difficulties that confronted the colonists, was the limited
power of Congress. The states could regulate commerce and exercise
nearly all authority. But disputes regarding their boundaries prevented
their development as a united nation.

Congress issued an ordinance in 1784 under which territories might
organise governments, send delegates to Congress, and obtain admission
as states. This was made use of in 1787 by the Northwest Territory, the
region lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi and the Great Lakes.
The states made a compact in which it was agreed that there should be no
slavery in this territory.

The critical period lasted until 1789. In the absence of strong
authority, economic and political troubles arose. Finally, a commission
appointed by Maryland and Virginia to settle questions relating to
navigation on the Potomac resulted in a convention to adjust the
navigation and commerce of the whole of the United States, called the
Annapolis Convention from the place where it met, May 1, 1787. Rhode
Island was the only state that failed to send delegates. Instead of
taking up the interstate commerce questions the convention formulated
the present Constitution. A President, with power to carry out the will
of the people, was provided, and also, a Supreme Court.

Washington was elected first President, his term beginning March 4,
1789. A census was taken in 1790. The largest city was Philadelphia,
with a population of 42,000--the others were New York, 33,000, and
Boston, 18,000. The total population of the United States was 4,000,000.
The slaves numbered 700,