Britain recognizes the independence of the United States following their defeat at Yorktown in 1781.

In the peace treaty of 1783, American sovereignty is recognized from the Atlantic coast west to the Mississippi River.

Nationalists lead the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in writing the United States Constitution, ratified in state conventions in 1788.

The federal government is reorganized into three branches, on the principle of creating salutary checks and balances, in 1789.

George Washington, who had led the revolutionary army to victory, is the first president elected under the new constitution.

The Bill of Rights, forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and guaranteeing a range of legal protections, is adopted in 1791.