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Slavery first started when the British brought African slaves to the new colony of Virginia. This marked the start of the slave trade in the U.S. -
The Ordinance of 1787 established a government in the Northwest territory. It specified various parts of the northwest territory that could become states. This document outlawed slavery in any of the states that were created from the Northwest territory. -
In 1849 Harriet Tuban created the Underground Railroad. This railroad was a passageway of secret networks of routes and safe houses. Her idea was a total success because all of these slaves were set free and she never left a slave behind throughout her whole time doing this. She helped enslave almost 300 slaves during her time. -
The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The war was between the northern states (union), and the southern states (confederates). The Union wanted to abolish slavery but the Confederates wanted to keep slavery. There were 7 southern states that seceded from the Union which was a reason for the war to start. After the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, Lincoln declared war on them. -
In 1863, President Lincoln created the Emancipation Proclamation saying "All persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” This did not outlaw slavery and it wasn't completely over because it only freed slaves in Confederate states. President Lincoln knew that this had to be followed by a constitutional amendment in order to abolish slavery. -
On April 8, 1864, the Senate took the first step toward passing the 13th Amendment which won 38 to 6 -
The House did not pass the 13th Amendment. So President Lincoln made sure it passed through Congress. Then he added the 13th Amendment to the Republican Party Platform in time for the 1864 Presidential election. He succeeded when the 13th Amendment bill was passed on January 31, 1865, with a winning vote of 119 to 56. -
Congress added the Reconstruction amendments to lay the groundwork for greater racial justice. This included the 13th (Abolished Slavery), 14th (Granted Citizenship), and 15th (Extended Voting Rights) Amendments. This was the Reconstruction era to fix the problems that arose before and during the Civil War in the U.S. The main point of reconstruction was to make the blacks free and to make sure that this wouldn't happen again. -
The 13th Amendment prohibited slavery except as a punishment for crime. This loophole established Southern states creating black codes to criminalize activities that would make it easy to enslave African Americans and force them to be slaves again. The idea for black codes was to be free but you had to work. If you were caught doing nothing on the job, you were convicted of a crime and sent to jail. The codes required black people to sign contracts so they didn't make much money. -
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 6th, 1865. It states that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."