Sunday · September 27, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250th
On this day › September 17

What happened on September 17 in American history

September 17 is the 260th day of the year (the 261st in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from September 17 spanning 1778 to 1962. Among them: in 1778, At Fort Pitt, the United States signs its first treaty with an Indian nation; and in 1787, the Constitution is signed at Independence Hall; the convention adjourns.

1778Member story · 1776 Club

At Fort Pitt, the United States signs its first treaty with an Indian nation

The Lenape agree to let American troops cross their land on the way to Detroit.
1787

The Constitution is signed at Independence Hall; the convention adjourns

Three delegates refuse to sign, but 39 others put their names to the new frame of government.
1849

Harriet Tubman slips away from a Maryland plantation, bound for Pennsylvania

Her brothers Ben and Henry start north with her, then turn back; she keeps walking alone.
1862

Along a Maryland creek, the single bloodiest day in American history

Lee's invasion stalls near Sharpsburg as Union and Confederate armies trade nearly 23,000 casualties in twelve hours.
1920Member story · 1776 Club

Team owners meet in a car showroom, form a league to stop poaching players

Jim Thorpe is elected president of an association that will not be called the NFL for two more years.
1962Member story · 1776 Club

NASA unveils nine new astronauts for the moon effort

Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell are among the pilots and engineers chosen to fly Gemini and Apollo.