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Northwest Ordinance
The Ordinance of 1787 makes slavery illegal in the Northwest Territory. It also organizes governing structures, and sets up guidelines by which teriotries can bea admitted as states. The U.S Constitution states that Congress may not ban the slave trade until 1808, but the banning of slavery in the Northwest was signifigant for anti-slavery advocates. -
Three-Fifths Compromise
The Three-Fifths compromise was a compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Constitutional Convention. Based on the proposal by James Madison, it was decided that three out of every five slaves would count as citizens. Thsi is less than the original southern proposal of every slave, and higher than the proposal of one half by the north. This compromise was significant because it drastically increased representation for the south in the House and the Electoral College. -
Slave Trade Act of 1807
Enacted in 1807, the Slave Trade Act of 1807 stated that, as of January 1, 1808, the importation of slaves into the United States was illegal. Additionally, Section 2 Article V of the United States Constitution prohibited any constitutional amendments or legislation that would alter the provision of slave trade until 1808, the year this act went in to effect. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise regulated slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30' north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. The Missouri compromise temporarily eased tensions between abolitionists and slavery advocates. -
Nat Turner Slave Rebellion
A slave rebellioN in Southampton County that was led by Nat Turner. Revolting slaves killed almost 60 whites. The rebellion ended quickly, but Turner survived in hiding for several months. The effects of the rebillion were overall negative for blacks, many were executed, and stricter slave laws were enacted throughout the south. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was drafted by Henry Clay, and it permitted California to be admitted to the Union as a free state, rather than being split at the Missouri Compromise Line or parallel 35° north. Slavery was to be determined by popular sovereignty in the new New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory ,and a stronger Fugitive Slave Act was instilled. The compromise prevented seccesion for a short time. -
Kansas -Nebraska Acts
The Kansas-Neraska Act was proposed by senator Stephen A. Douglas. The act allowed settlers to vote to decide whether to allow slavery. This led to bloody confronation between anti-slavery and pro-slavery advocates. -
Dredscott v. Sandford
The Dred Scott decision ruled that Africans imported to the United States and held as slaves were not protected by the Constitution and could not be U.S. citizens. The court also ruled that the U.S. Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories and that, because slaves were not citizens, they could not sue in court. Finally, the court ruled that slaves, as private property, could not be taken from their owners. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a speech given by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, which declared the freedom of all slaves in any Confederate state that did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863.The Emancipation Proclamation was seen by some as Lincoln's "desperate last-trump card" in order to win the war the Union was losing. The proclamation had no real power in the Confederacy, but at least 20,000 slaves were freed at once on the day it took effect. -
13th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 21, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865, this was the first amendment ratified during Reconstruction. The Thirteenth Amendment stated 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." -
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National Labor Union
Founded in 1866, the National Labor Union was the first national labor federation. Seeking to unite all national labor organizations, the NLU supported the eight hour workday, restrictions on immigration - especially Chinese immigrants - and an end to convct labor. The NLU was mildly supportive of black workers, and formed a the Colored National Labor Union shortly after the NLU was formed. -
14th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Adopted on July 9, 1868, this was the second amendment ratified during Reconstruction. This amendment had five sections, but is most well known for its Citizenship Claise, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."This amendment officially made all ex-slaves in the United States American citizens. -
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Knights of Labor
Formed in 1869, the Knights of Labor supporting the eight hour workday and an end to convict and child labor. They accepted blacks and women as full members and exploded to nearly 700,000 members in 1886. The Haymarket riot on May 4, 1886, is seen as the doom of the K of L, as it associated the organiztion with anarchism, which destroyed its reputation and led to its collapse. -
15th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Ratified on February 3, 1870. the Fifteenth Amendment granted all people the right to vote, regardless of race. "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -
Civil Rights Act
The Act guaranteed that everyone, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, was entitled to the same treatment in "public accommodations." Tha Act however was overturned when it was deemed unconstitutional by the supreme court in 1883 -
End of Reconstruction
Reconstruction in the south officially ends, and President Hayes orders all the remaining federal troops withdraw from all southern states. This provides southern legislators the opportunity to creat oppressive Jim Crow laws, blacks are disenfranchised, and basic rights for African-American citizens regress. -
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institue
Booker T. Washington founds the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institue in Alabama for African-American students. Famous inventor George Washington Carver is hired as the Agricultural head and is quickly recognized for his achievements in the field of agriculture. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This landmark supreme court case rules that segregation is legal under the doctorine "seperate but equal." This allows for the segregation of schools and private businesses, and rules Jim Crow laws constitutional. -
Niagara Movement
African-American scholar W.E.B. Dubois founds the Niagra Movement and their first meeting takes places at Niagra falls. The group opposes segregation and accomadation to white society and is particularly oppossed to the ideas of Booker T. Washington. The Niagra movement would eventually disband and join the NAACP. -
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NAACP
A result of the Niagara movement. the NAACP is founded in New York by a group of prominent black and white intellectuals including W.E.B. Dubois. The organization works to " To promote equality of rights and to eradicate caste or race prejudice among the citizens of the United States; to advance the interest of colored citizens; to secure for them impartial suffrage; and to increase their opportunities for securing justice in the courts." -
UNIA Formed
The UNIA, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, is a black nationalist organization formed in August of 1914 by Marcus Garvey, a black civil rights leader and journalist. Its goal was "to unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own" and promoted political, social, and economic freedom for blacks. By August of 1920, to organization had a total of over four million members. -
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Black Involvement in the World Wars
The United States military was segregated during WWI and WWII, so black soldiers fought in separate divisions as whites. Two colored divisions included the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions. Formed in October and December of 1917 respectively, they were made up of blacks all over the US. Both divisions saw combat in both WWI and WWII. In WWII, the 92nd fought in the Europe, while the 93rd served in the Pacific. Two members of the 92nd Infantry division were awarded the Medal of Honor. -
Joe "King" Oliver Rises to Fame
Born in Louisiana in 1885, the coronet player gained local fame in and around New Orleans in his early life. In 1918 he moved to Chicago and by 1922, he had gained great fame in the city. He and his band are seen as the first important black jazz group. As a result of Oliver, black jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were able to gain great fame. -
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First Black Man on a Presidential Ticket
James W. Ford was the first black man to appear on the Presidential ticket. In 1932, 1936, and 1940 he ran for Vice-President alongside William Z. Foster in 1932 and Earl Browder in 1936 and 1940. -
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Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program established on April 5 1933 by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal. The aim of the organization was to provide work to jobless, unmarried men from 18 and 25 years old during the Great Depression. It employed a total of 2.5 million men during its nine years. Men received a pay of $30 per month. Blacks were allowed to participate, a total of 200,000 did, and received the same wages as whites, however they were segregated. -
Paul Robeson Adresses MLB Segregation
In December of 1943, Paul Robeson, a popular black American singer and the first black man to play a major league professional sport, addressed Major League Baseball club owners at an annual meeting regarding integration of blacks into the MLB. He was the first man to do so and claimed that baseball commisioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denied blacks entry into the MLB. His speech was met with applause. Robeson paved the way for Jackie Robinson's debut in 1947. -
Truman Executive Order
President Truman outlaws segregation in the Military -
Brown v. Board of Eductation of Topeka Kans.
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court deemed segreation in public schools uncostitutional, ruling "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The case was argued by NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall. The decision overturned the 1896 case Plessyv. Ferguson, which instilled the "separate but equal" doctorine. -
Emmet Till Murdered
Fourteen year-old Emmet Till was kidnapped, beaten and shot while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. His alleged crime was whistling at a white woman. J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant were charged for the murder, but were acquitted by a jury of all-white southerners. -
Start of Montgomery Bus Boycott
NAACP member Rosa Parkds refuses to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus to a white passenger. She is arrested, and in response to her arrest black leaders in Montgomery launch a bus boycott that lasts more than a year. The Buses are finally desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956. -
Little Rock
An attempt to intergrate Little Rock Central High School is blocked by Alabama governor Orval Fabus who sends the Alabama national guard. President Eisenhower is forced to send federal troops to enforce Federal law and protect the nine black students. -
First Sit In
Four black college students begin a sit-in at a Woolworth's restaurant in North Carolina. The black waitress refuses them service but they remain at the counter. In the following days more and more black students join the original four, triggering sit-ins across the country. -
Start of Freedom Ridies
Student volunteers took bus trips through the south trying to force new anti-segregation laws to be enforced. Many of the "freedom riders" are attacked by angry white mobs, and refused protection by the police. -
First Black Student at University of Mississipi
James Meredith was the first black student to enroll at the southern college, University of Mississippi. His enrollment cost the federal government millions of dollars in fees to protect him from angry whites. -
Birmingham Protests
Commisioner of Public Safety Eugern Connor uses brutal tactics including fire hoses and dogs to control peaceful black protestors. Many of the images are recorded and shock the rest of the nation. Earlier in the protests Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and wrote his famous "letters from Birmingham Jail." Later that year four young black girls were killed by a bomb while attending sunday school. -
March on Washington
200,000 black and white Civils Rights Protestors unite in the March on Washington. The protestors congregate at the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have A Dream speech. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment abolishes the poll tax. The poll tax was used in southern states to discourage blacks from voting. -
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Freedom Summer
Civil Rights groups organize a massive effort to register black voters in southern states. They also send protesters to the Democratic National Convention to protest the official all-white Mississippia contigent. THree civil-rights workers were brutally murdered during freedom summer. The two whites were killed, and the balck civil-rights worker was beaten and then killed. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Right Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on racec color, religion, and national origin. The law gives the federal government power to enforce desegregation. -
Malcom X Killed
Malcolm X is assassinated by a proponent of the Nation of Islam, a faith Malcom X had recently abandoned. -
March to Montgomery
Blacks organize march on Montgomery in support of voting right but are blackeded at Pettus Bridge by plice. Protestors are attacked by police and the incident is known as "Bloody Sunday" -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act made it easier for Southern Blacks to register to vote; it abolished literacy tests, poll taxes, and other requirements that made it more difficult for blacks to vote. -
Watts Riot
Violent Riot erupts in the black section of L.A. -
Affirmative Action
President Johnson issues "Affirmative action" requireing government contractors give slight preference to potential minority employees. -
Black Panthers Founded
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale found the Black PANTHERS -
Martin Luther King Assassinated
MLK Jr. is assassinated at age 39 by James Earl Ray. His death marks the shift in Civil Rights Protests from peaceful, non-violent to more aggressive protesting.
