1794

Events from the year **1794 in the United States**.

* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Frederick Muhlenberg (Anti-Admin.-PA)
* Congress: 3rd

Governors
* Governor of Connecticut: Samuel Huntington (Federalist)
* Governor of Delaware: Joshua Clayton (Federalist)
* Governor of Georgia: George Mathews (Democratic-Republican)
* Governor of Kentucky: Issac Shelby (Democratic-Republican)
* Governor of Maryland: Thomas Sim Lee (Democratic-Republican) (until November 14), John Hoskins Stone (Federalist) (starting November 14)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Samuel Adams (no political party)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett (Democratic-Republican) (until June 5), John Taylor Gilman (Democratic-Republican) (starting June 5)
* Governor of New Jersey: Richard Howell (Federalist)
* Governor of New York: George Clinton (Democratic-Republican)
* Governor of North Carolina: Richard Dobbs Spaight (Federalist)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Thomas Mifflin (no political party)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Arthur Fenner (Country)
* Governor of South Carolina: William Moultrie (Federalist) (until December 17), Arnoldus Vanderhorst (Federalist) (starting December 17)
* Governor of Vermont: Thomas Chittenden (no political party)
* Governor of Virginia: Henry Lee III (Federalist) (until December 1), Robert Brooke (Democratic-Republican) (starting December 1)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Oliver Wolcott (Federalist)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Samuel Adams (Democratic-Republican) (until month and day unknown), Moses Gill (political party unknown) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Pierre Van Cortlandt (political party unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Samuel J. Potter (Democratic-Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: James Ladson (Federalist) (until December 17), Lewis Morris (Federalist) (starting December 17)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Peter Olcott (political party unknown) (until month and day unknown), Jonathan Hunt (political party unknown) (starting month and day unknown)

## Events

* January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United States flag of 15 stars and 15 stripes, in recognition of the recent admission of Vermont and Kentucky as the 14th and 15th states. A subsequent act restores the number of stripes to 13, but provides for additional stars upon the admission of each additional state.
* February 11 – The first session of the United States Senate is open to the public.
* March 14 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin.
* March 27 – The United States Government authorizes the building of the first six United States Navy vessels (in 1797 the first 3 frigates, USS *United States*, USS *Constellation* and USS *Constitution* go into service), not to be confused with October 13, 1775, which is observed as the Navy's Birthday Archived 2015-01-01 at the Wayback Machine.
* July 17 – Whiskey Rebellion: 500 armed Pennsylvanians attack and burn the home of General John Neville.
* August 7 – Whiskey Rebellion: President Washington invokes the Militia Acts of 1792 mobilize a federal army of 12,500 men. The force would later be put under the command of General "Light Horse Harry" Lee to be led into western Pennsylvania against the insurrection.
* September 10 – The University of Tennessee is established at Knoxville.
* October 14 – Washington reviews the army assembled against the Whiskey Rebellion.
* November 1 – Whiskey Rebellion: The federal army quells the uprising and begins the return march to Philadelphia with prisoners.
* November 19 – The United States and Great Britain sign the Jay Treaty (coming into effect 1796), which attempts to clear up some issues left over from the American Revolutionary War and secures a decade of peaceful trade between the two nations. Britain agrees to evacuate border forts in the Northwest Territory (roughly the area north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi) and thereby end British support for the Indians.
* December 8 – The Great New Orleans Fire (1794) burns over 200 buildings in the French Quarter.
* December 23 – St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans is dedicated.

## Memoriam

* June 19 – Richard Henry Lee, 12th President of the Confederation Congress, signatory of the Continental Association, Declaration of Independence, and United States Constitution (aged 62; Westmoreland County, VA, USA)
* September 15 – Abraham Clark, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (aged 68; Rahway, NJ, USA)
* November 15 – John Witherspoon, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (aged 71; Princeton, NJ, USA)
* November 22 – John Alsop, American Continental Congressman (aged 70; Queens County, NY, USA)