1799 in the United States
Encyclopedia
Events
- January 30 – Congress passes the Logan ActLogan ActThe Logan Act is a United States federal law that forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. It was passed in 1799 and last amended in 1994...
, forbidding unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments, in response to George LoganGeorge LoganGeorge Logan was an American physician, farmer, legislator and politician from Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. He served in the Pennsylvania state legislature and represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate. He was a founder of the Democratic-Republican Societies in 1793...
's unofficial attempt to negotiate peace between the U.S. and FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - February – Fries's Rebellion, an armed tax revoltTax revoltA tax revolt is a political struggle to repeal, limit, or roll back a tax.-1930s, The Great Depression:In the United States, the term "tax revolt" is sometimes used to refer to a series of anti-tax state initiative campaigns. The first significant wave of these campaigns was during the 1930s. The...
among Pennsylvania DutchPennsylvania DutchPennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
farmers, begins as John Fries organizes meetings to discuss a collective response to the taxes imposed to raise funds for the Quasi-WarQuasi-WarThe Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
. - February 9 – Quasi-WarQuasi-WarThe Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
: In the Action of 9 February 1799Action of 9 February 1799The USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente, or the Action of 9 February 1799, was the first United States naval victory against a foreign naval vessel...
, the USS ConstellationUSS Constellation (1797)USS Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. She was distinguished as the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea and the first U.S. Navy vessel to engage and defeat an enemy vessel...
captures the French frigate Insurgente. - March 1 – Federalist James Ross becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States SenatePresident pro tempore of the United States SenateThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
. - March 29 – New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
passes a law aimed at gradually abolishing slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the state. - April 10 – Ellicott's StoneEllicott's StoneEllicott’s Stone, also known as the Ellicott Stone, is a boundary marker in northern Mobile County, Alabama. It was placed on April 10, 1799 by a joint U.S.-Spanish survey party headed by Andrew Ellicott...
is placed by a U.S.-Spanish survey party headed by Andrew EllicottAndrew EllicottAndrew Ellicott was a U.S. surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre Charles L'Enfant's work on the plan for Washington, D.C., and served as a teacher in survey methods for...
. - July 8 – The Russian-American CompanyRussian-American CompanyThe Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
is founded. - December 14 – George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, the first President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, dies in Mount Vernon, VirginiaMount Vernon, VirginiaMount Vernon is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Nearby CDPs are Fort Belvoir , Groveton, Virginia and Hybla Valley, Virginia , and Fort Hunt, Virginia...
.
Undated
- 12 year old Conrad John Reed finds what he describes as a "heavy yellow rock" along Little Meadow Creek in Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County, North Carolina-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 131,063 people, 49,519 households, and 36,545 families residing in the county. The population density was 360 people per square mile . There were 52,848 housing units at an average density of 145 per square mile...
, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and makes it a doorstop in his home. Conrad's father John Reed learns that the rock is actually gold in 1802, initiating the first gold rush in the United States. - The American system of manufacturingAmerican system of manufacturingThe American system of manufacturing was a set of manufacturing methods that evolved in the 19th century. It involved semi-skilled labor using machine tools and jigs to make standardized, identical, interchangeable parts, manufactured to a tolerance, which could be assembled with a minimum of time...
is invented. - Reconstruction of The CabildoThe CabildoThe Cabildo was the seat of colonial government in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is now a museum. The Cabildo is located along Jackson Square, adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral.- History :The original Cabildo was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire...
in New Orleans is completed.
Births
- January 6 – Jedediah SmithJedediah SmithJedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
, explorer, hunter, trapper and fur trader (d.18311831 in the United StatesEvents from the year 1831 in the United States.-Incumbents:* President: Andrew Jackson * Vice President: John C. Calhoun * Chief Justice: John Marshall...
) - March 8 – Simon CameronSimon CameronSimon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
, journalist, editor and 26th United States Secretary of WarUnited States Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
(d.18891889 in the United StatesEvents from the year 1889 in the United States. Four states—North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington—are added to the nation this year, more than any other year excluding the Thirteen Colonies.-Incumbents:...
) - November 29 – Amos Bronson AlcottAmos Bronson AlcottAmos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and avoided traditional punishment. He hoped to perfect the human spirit and, to that end, advocated a...
, educator and writer (d.18881888 in the United States-Incumbents:* President: Grover Cleveland * Vice President: vacant* Chief Justice: Morrison Waite , Melville Fuller * Speaker of the House of Representatives: John G...
)
Deaths
- June 6 – Patrick HenryPatrick HenryPatrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
, 1st & 6th Governor of VirginiaGovernor of VirginiaThe governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
(b.1736) - December 14 – George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, 1st President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
(b.1732)
Further reading
- John Lathrop. Effects of Lightning on Several Persons in the House of Samuel Carey Esq. of Chelsea, August 2, 1799. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1809), pp. 82-85.
- Carlos E. Godfrey. Organization of the Provisional Army of the United States in the Anticipated War with France, 1798-1800. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 38, No. 2 (1914), pp. 129-132
- Letters from William and Mary College, 1798-1801. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Apr., 1921), pp. 129-179.
- William H. Gaines, Jr. The Forgotten Army: Recruiting for a National Emergency (1799-1800). The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul., 1948), pp. 267-279
- George W. Kyte. Guns for Charleston: A Case of Lend-Lease in 1798-1799. The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Aug., 1948), pp. 401-408.
- Rex A. Skidmore. Penological Pioneering in the Walnut Street Jail, 1789-1799. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1931-1951), Vol. 39, No. 2 (Jul. - Aug., 1948), pp. 167-180 .
- Patricia Holbert Menk. D. M. Erskine: Letters from America, 1798-1799. The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Apr., 1949), pp. 251-284.
- Charles Caleb Cotton and Julien Dwight Martin. The Letters of Charles Caleb Cotton, 1798-1802. The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Oct., 1950), pp.216-228. Covers the year 1799.
- Robert C. Smith. A Portuguese Naturalist in Philadelphia, 1799. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 78, No. 1 (Jan., 1954), pp. 71-106
- James Morton Smith. The Federalist "Saints" versus "The Devil of Sedition": The Liberty Pole Cases of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1798-1799. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Jun., 1955), pp. 198-215.
- Stephen G. Kurtz. The French Mission of 1799-1800: Concluding Chapter in the Statecraft of John Adams. Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 80, No. 4 (Dec., 1965), pp. 543-557.
- Peter J. Parker. Asbury Dickins, Bookseller, 1798-1801, or, the Brief Career of a Careless Youth. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 94, No. 4 (Oct., 1970), pp. 464-483.
- Steven H. Hochman. On the Liberty of the Press in Virginia: From Essay to Bludgeon, 1798-1803. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 84, No. 4 (Oct., 1976), pp. 431-445.
- William J. Murphy, Jr. John Adams: The Politics of the Additional Army, 1798-1800. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Jun., 1979), pp. 234-249.
- Thomas M. Ray. "Not One Cent for Tribute": The Public Addresses and American Popular Reaction to the XYZ Affair, 1798-1799. Journal of the Early Republic, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Winter, 1983), pp. 389-412.
- Paul Douglas Newman. Fries's Rebellion and American Political Culture, 1798-1800. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 119, No. 1/2 (Jan. - Apr., 1995), pp. 37-73.
- Robert H. Churchill. Popular Nullification, Fries' Rebellion, and the Waning of Radical Republicanism, 1798-1801. Pennsylvania History, Vol. 67, No. 1, Fries' Rebellion (Winter 2000), pp. 105-140.
- Andy Trees. Private Correspondence for the Public Good: Thomas Jefferson to Elbridge Gerry, 26 January 1799. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 108, No. 3 (2000), pp. 217-254.