Timeline: African-American Literature

Mar 5, 1770

Boston Massacre

Deadly riot where 1st American and African American killed in Revolutionary War.

Jul 4, 1776

Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson commending the slave trade to be removed from the Declaration of Independence due to pressure from the southern colonies.

Feb 9, 1780

Massachusetts Grants African-Americans Right to Vote

Captain Paul Cuffe and six other African-American residents petition the state legislature, claiming not taxation without representation. Courts agreed and awarded Capt. Cuffe and the six others full civil rights.

Sep 17, 1789

U.S. Constitution Adopted

Slaves counted as three-fifths of a person for means of representation.basic rights of a citizen

Feb 12, 1793

First Fugitive Slave Act

Congress passed the act, which makes it a crime to harbor and escaped slave

Period: Mar 16, 1827 to Mar 28, 1829

Freedom's Journal

Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm published Freedom's Journal, first African-American newspaper in America.

Jan 29, 1850

The Compromise

Series of bills passed mainly to address issues related to slavery. Prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a Texas dispute, and established a stricter fugitive slave act.

Mar 20, 1852

Uncle Tom's Cabin Published

Harriet Stowe published the first of 41 installments of Uncle Tom's Cabin in an abolitionist weekly. Book that she intends that he had, sold, and resold. She sold 300,000 copies. Story of Eliza who flees to save her children.

Aug 22, 1859

Last Known Slave Ship Arrives in United States

Captain Foster guided the slaver Clotilde into Mobile, Alabama. To avoid being arrested by the federal authorities he hid the slaves and set fire to his ship.

Aug 30, 1861

Slave Freed in Missouri,But Lincoln Backtracks

Union General John C. Fremont instituted martial law in Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. was countermanded by President Abraham Lincoln

Jul 9, 1868

14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights

The 14th amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to former slaves.

1903

African American Women Starts A Business Which Will Make Her a Millionaire

Sarah Breedlove MacWilliams (Madam C. J. Walker) starts an African American hair-care business in Denver which she will eventually becomes America's first self-made millionaire.

Period: 1910 to 1920

Great Migration Begins

Looking for better opportunities, massive numbers of African Americans move north to seek employment in factories.

Mar 10, 1913

Harriet Tubman

Famous for the Underground Railroad. Escaping slavery herself and returning time by time to rescue family and friends escape. Nickname General Tubman by John Brown and Grandma Moses, served as a Union Spy and was awarded full military honors upon her death.