Browse the year 1776 as a living newsroom — every article, grouped into sections.
The Year 1776 — Newsroom
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George Washington in 1776
For George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army since his appointment by the Second Continental Congress in June 1775, the year 1776 encompassed both his first great triumph and t...
December 26, 1776
Key Figures
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Key Figures
George Washington in 1776
For George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army since his appointment by the Second Continental Congress in June 1775, the year 1...
Political Events
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French Alliance & Diplomacy (1776–1778)
The Treaty of Alliance signed on February 6, 1778, formalized the political a...
British Opposition to the War: Edmund Burke and Char...
In 1776, Whig politicians Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox emerged as leadi...
The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, adopted on September 28, 1776, was the...
The Founding of San Francisco
In the same year that the thirteen Atlantic colonies declared their independe...
Military Events
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Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton was fought on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Tren...
Battle of Fort Washington
The Battle of Fort Washington, fought on November 16, 1776, was one of the wo...
Battle of White Plains
The Battle of White Plains was fought on October 28, 1776, near the village o...
Battle of Valcour Island
The Battle of Valcour Island, also called the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a na...
Science & Discovery
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Smallpox Inoculation in the Continental Army
George Washington's mandate requiring inoculation of Continental Army troops,...
Alessandro Volta's Discovery of Methane
In November 1776, the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta identified a flammab...
David Bushnell's Turtle: The First Submarine Used in...
On the night of September 6–7, 1776, Sergeant Ezra Lee piloted a hand-powered...
David Hume's Death and Philosophical Legacy
David Hume, one of the most influential philosophers of the Scottish Enlighte...
Latest Posts
Political Events
French Alliance & Diplomacy (1776–1778)
Feb 06
Science & Discovery
Smallpox Inoculation in the Continental Army
Feb 05
Key Figures
George Washington in 1776
Dec 26
Military Events
Battle of Trenton
Dec 26
Arts & Culture
Thomas Paine's The American Crisis, Number I
Dec 19
Arts & Culture