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Arrival
The arrival of about 20 Africans to Jamestown,Virginia marked the beginning of slavery in colonia America. Even though slave trade was not yet established, its possible these 20 Africans became slaves or were brought over for the purpose of indentured servants. A Dutch ship brought 20 African indentured servants to the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia. -
Stono Rebellion
In 1739 the governor of Florida promised freedom to any slaves who could escape to that colony. This resulted in 75 slaves in South Carolina revolting, killing several white people, and then marching towards Florida. Most were killed along the way by white militiamen, preventing a more massive uprising. This rebellion resulted in the implementation of "black codes" that further restricted the activities of slaves. -
Negro Act
South Carolina passes the comprehensive "Negro Act," making it illegal for slaves to move abroad, assemble in groups, raise food, earn money, and learn to read English. Owners are permitted to kill rebellious slaves if necessary. -
Northwest Ordinance
The primary effect of the ordinance was the creation of the Northwest Territory as the first organized territory of the United States out of the region south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River. Further, the prohibition of slavery in the territory had the effect of establishing the Ohio River as the boundary between free and slave territory in the region between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. This division helped set the s -
Fugitive Slave Act
Congress passes the first Fugitive Slave Act, which makes it a crime to harbor an escaped slave. -
Importation
The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 is a United States federal law that stated no new slaves were permitted to be imported into the United States. The act ended the legal transatlantic slave trade. However, slavery continued in the United States until the end of the Civil War. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise forbids slavery in the Louisiana territory north of Missouri's Southern border. Under its terms, Maine is admitted to the Union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. -
Underground Railroad
Approximately 75,000 slaves escape to the North and freedom using the Underground Railroad, a system in which free African American and white "conductors," abolitionists, and sympathizers guide, help, and shelter the escapees. -
Comp of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was passed in September, and was designed by Henry Clay, a whig leader. The compromise called for a stronger Fugitive Slave Act, new territories to determine slavery by popular sovereignty, California was to be admitted as a free state, and Texas surrendered its claim to New Mexico. -
Dred Scott Decision
ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that people of African descent imported into the United States and held as slaves were not protected by the Constitution and could never be U.S. citizens. The court also held that the U.S. Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. So yeah, kinda harsh. -
Civil War Act
The Civil War begins when the Confederates attack Fort Sumter, in Charleston, South Carolina. The war, fought over the issue of slavery, will rage for another four years. The Union's victory will mean the end of slavery in the U.S. -
Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1st 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave the emancipation proclamation freeing all slaves in slave states that rebelled from the union. it did not free the slaves in slave states that stayed in the union. the emancipation proclamation stated, "all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." -
Civil Rights Act
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, which confers citizenship on African Americans and grants them equal rights with whites. -
Prosser and Sancho
Gabriel’s Revolt was lead by Gabriel Prosser, a literate black slave who planned to lead a large group of rebel blacks to Richmond, Virginia. However, information of the planned rebellion was leaked before it could happen, and the plans were foiled. Prosser and 25 of his followers were hanged and the Virginia legislature passed more restrictive laws on slaves. Shortly after Gabriel’s rebellion, another plot was set into motion by a slave named Sancho. He planned to use waterways to complete his -
Jim Crow Laws
Tennessee passes the first of the "Jim Crow" segregation laws, segregating state railroads. Other Southern states pass similar laws over the next 15 years. -
atlanta exposition
Speech delivered by ex slave, Booker T. Washington, that promoted economic independence as the means by which blacks could improve their position in society. The speech adcocated for cooperation with whites to overcome pervasive racism. Washington's call for gradual equality was sharply criticized by the more radical, W.E.B. DuBois, who advocated for immediate protest against discrimination. DuBois later accused Washington of being an accomodationist, and later referred to the speech as "The Atl -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregated, or "separate but equal," public facilities for whites and black African-American African Americans are legal. The ruling stands until 1954. -
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded by a group of African American and white activists, including W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois is the only one of the seven African American activists to serve on the NAACP board.