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1865 - End of the Civil War
April 9: The Confederate army surrenders, marking the official end of the Civil War.
December 6: The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery in the United States. -
1866 - 1870
March 2, 1866: The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is passed, granting citizenship to all persons born in the United States, including former slaves.
June 13, 1866: The first Freedmen's Bureau school opens in Savannah, Georgia, providing education to former slaves.
1868: The 14th Amendment is ratified, granting equal protection under the law to all citizens.
1870: The 15th Amendment is ratified, prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
1870s - 1890s
The Reconstruction Era begins, with African Americans holding political office and attempting to establish equal rights. -
1870s - 1890s
However, the period is also marked by violence and discrimination against African Americans, leading to the rollback of Reconstruction gains. -
1870s - 1890s
The Jim Crow laws, which segregate African Americans in all aspects of public life, begin to be implemented in the South. -
1896
The Supreme Court rules in the Plessy v. Ferguson case that "separate but equal" facilities for African Americans are constitutional, effectively upholding racial segregation. -
1900s - 1950s
African Americans face widespread discrimination and segregation in employment, housing, education, and public facilities. -
1900s - 1950s
The Harlem Renaissance emerges as a cultural and artistic movement, highlighting the talents of African American artists and intellectuals. -
1900s-1950s
The Great Migration brings millions of African Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the North and West. -
1954
The Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, beginning the slow dismantling of Jim Crow laws.