1775 to 1776

Literature

The Rivals. Richard B. Sheridan. British. 1775. Play. Complicated plot. Includes Mrs. Malaprop and numerous false identities.

The Barber of Seville. Beaumarchais. French. 1775. Play. Figaro, rascal of a barber, helps former master woo and win Bartholo's ward, Rosine.

On Conciliation with the American Colonies. Edmund Burke. British. 1775. Speech. Wanted to grant the colonies autonomy. Won only 58 votes.

M'Fingal. John Trumbull. American. 1775/82. Poetry/Satire. Modeled on Samuel Butler's Hudibras; ridicules extremism on both sides of the Revolution.

Society

1776. Declaration of Independence signed July 4 at Philadelphia.

1776. Battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, ends in defeat for the patriots.

1776. Gen. Howe meets with J. Adams, B. Franklin, and E. Rutledge to negotiate end of war. Break off.

1776. Howe occupies New York City.

1776. Pennsylvania long rifles can fire accurately 200 to 400 yards; muskets effective at 80-100 yards.

1776. British capture and hang Captain Nathan Hale, 21.

1776. Polish military tactician Kosciuszko becomes Washington's adjutant.

1776. Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, is narrow victory for Howe over Washington.

1776. Washington crosses Delaware Christmas night; Battle of Trenton turns tide of war.

1776. Delaware forbids further importation of slaves.

1776. San Francisco has its beginnings.

1776. Bushnell's "Connecticut Turtle" pioneers the use of the submarine in warfare.

1776. Smallpox decimates the Continental army in the north.

1776. The Phi Beta Kappa Society is founded, Dec. 5, at Virginia's College of William and Mary.

1776. Cattle ranches begin to flourish in the Argentine pampas.

Literature

The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith. British. 1776. Nonfiction. Outlines a system of laissez-faire economics based on absolutely free economy.

Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson. American. 1776. Nonfiction. Public act by which the Second Continental Congress declared the 13 North American colonies free and independent of England.

Common Sense. Thomas Paine. American. 1776. Nonfiction. Urges the immediate separation from England. Influential in bringing about the Declaration of Independence.

The American Crisis. Thomas Paine. American. 1776/83. Pamphlets. Sixteen pamphlets touching on all the important issues of the Revolution. Later papers called for a strong federal union.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Edward Gibbon. British. 1776/88. Nonfiction. Three periods, thirteen centuries. History is the record of "...crimes, follies, misfortunes of mankind."