- Dec 5 First US fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa (William & Mary College), forms
Event of Interest
Dec 8 George Washington's retreating army crosses Delaware River from NJ
George Washington
Historic Publication
Dec 19 Thomas Paine publishes his 1st "American Crisis" essay beginning "These are the times that try men's souls" (date disputed)
Thomas Paine
- Dec 23 Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France
- Dec 25 George Washington crosses Delaware, surprises and defeats 1,400 Hessians
- Dec 26 George Washington defeats Hessians at Battle of Trenton in American Revolutionary War
- Dec 31 Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors