America: Our Defining Hours Archives ‑ History.com

Valley Forge

Battle of Valley Forge On September 18, 1777, General Wilhelm von Knyphausen led British soldiers on a raid of Valley Forge, where American troops had built a handful of storage facilities. Defending the site were Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Captain Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. The British succeeded in stealing supplies and burning a […]

The Gettysburg Address

Burying the Dead at Gettysburg From July 1 to July 3, 1863, the invading forces of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army clashed with the Army of the Potomac (under its newly appointed leader, General George G. Meade) in Gettysburg, some 35 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Casualties were high on both sides: Out of […]

George Waring

Need for Better Sewage Systems By the mid‑19th century, the population in America’s urban centers had begun to explode; this process would continue through the end of the century. One particularly striking example was New York City, which doubled in population size every decade from 1800 to 1880. With this kind of population density, earlier […]

Jane Addams

Jane Addams: Early Life & Education Jane Addams was born in Cedarville, Illinois on September 6, 1860 to Sarah Adams (Weber) and John Huy Adams. She was the eighth of nine children and was born with a spinal defect that hampered her early physical growth before it was rectified by surgery. Her father was a […]

Writing of Declaration of Independence

Jefferson’s Early Career Born into one of the most prominent families in Virginia (on his mother’s side), Jefferson studied at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg and began practicing law in 1767. In 1768, Jefferson stood as a candidate for the Virginia House of Burgesses; he entered the legislature just as opposition was […]

James H. Doolittle

Jimmy Doolittle: Early Years James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle was born in Alameda, California, but spent much of his childhood in western Alaska. His father, Frank, was a gold prospector and carpenter in Nome, where young Jimmy learned to fight bullies and pilot a dogsled. Eventually Rosa and Jimmy Doolittle returned to California, leaving Frank behind. […]

Clara Barton

Early Life of Clara Barton She was born Clarissa Harlowe Barton on December 25, 1821 in Oxford, Massachusetts, into an abolitionist family. It’s reported her love of nursing started when her oldest brother experienced a serious head injury and she nursed him diligently for two years. After receiving a formal education, Barton became a teacher […]

Emancipation Proclamation

Abe Lincoln’s Developing Views on Slavery Sectional tensions over slavery in the United States had been building for decades by 1854, when Congress’ passage of the Kansas‑Nebraska Act opened territory that had previously been closed to slavery according to the Missouri Compromise. Opposition to the act led to the formation of the Republican Party in […]