1775
Congress cuts the cord to London's mail: Franklin named postmaster general
A line of posts is ordered from Falmouth to Savannah, and the emerging nation gets its own way to talk to itself.
1788Member story · 1776 Club
New York ratifies the Constitution, 30 to 27
Hamilton, Madison and Jay had spent months making the case in the newspapers; the Poughkeepsie convention barely came around.
1861
Five days after Bull Run, Lincoln hands his broken army to McClellan
The thirty-four-year-old general inherits a demoralized force and calls the deference of Lincoln, the Cabinet, and Scott a 'strange operation of magic'.
1908Member story · 1776 Club
Bonaparte quietly builds a federal police force Congress just told him he couldn't have
Barred from borrowing Secret Service men, the Attorney General hires his own investigators instead.
1941
Washington cuts off Japan's oil; London and the Dutch follow within days
Tokyo's push into southern Indochina triggers an embargo that erases four-fifths of Japan's oil supply.
1945Member story · 1776 Club
Allies warn Japan: surrender now or face prompt and utter destruction
Stalin sits out the ultimatum since Moscow is not yet at war with Tokyo, but promises to sign on once it is.