On this day in 1793, the first successful balloon flight is made from American soil. Did you know that President George Washington was in the audience for the occasion? Washington had been interested in hot air balloons for years. “I have only news paper Accts of the Air Balloons,” he wrote a friend in 1784, “to which I do not know what credence to give; as the tales related of them are marvelous, & lead us to expect that our friends at Paris, in a little time, will come flyi

On this day in 1789, the first presidential electors are selected. Just a few weeks later, the Electoral College would elect George Washington as the nation’s first President. Perhaps you know that Washington’s election was unanimous, but do you know about the unusual decisions made by state legislatures that year? The states engaged in independent decision-making that seems strange to modern Americans. The founding generation, however, knew that it was all part and parcel of

On this day in 1776, General George Washington wins the Battle of Trenton. 1776 had been a difficult year. The victory provided a much-needed morale boost. As discussed in yesterday’s post , the beginning of December found Washington and British General William Howe on opposite sides of the Delaware River. As the weather deteriorated, Howe had decided to go into winter quarters. Washington, instead, decided to make a difficult crossing of the Delaware. His plan was to arrive

On this day in 1776, General George Washington makes a harrowing trip across the Delaware River, in the dead of night. The tremendous feat came just when it was needed most. Washington’s army was reeling from a series of crushing defeats: The British had won important battles in New York and had chased Americans across New Jersey. Early in December, a defeated American army had narrowly escaped across the Delaware River. That river provided a barrier from further British atta