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Origins of African Slaves in Chesapeake
Africans first arrived in Virginia in 1619 when they were sold as cargo off of a Dutch ship. The English justified their need for slavery by stating that it was appropriate punishment for. The practice for slavery was claimed to be primarily for foreigners of a non-Christian religion. The English had negative views and feelings towards Africans before they had a chance to even know them. The first Virginia law that recognized slavery was passed in 1661. -
A New Colony in Maryland
In the late 1620s, there was an outpost located at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Sir George Calvert saw commercial potential where this outpost was located. After speaking to King Charles I, he was granted the land north of the Potomac and south of the Delaware. This territory became Maryland. -
The Destruction of the Powhatans
In Virginia the new colonists were spreading out while establishing private plantations and claiming the Indians’ prime farmland. During this time, the Powhatans had become dependent of the English for their metal tools. The English, however, learned to grow their own food and no longer needed the Indian food which caused the Indians to accumulate a debt to the English. After the death of Powhatan, his brother led an attacked that killed a good number of colonists which led to John Smith issuing -
Declaring Independence
In the beginning of 1776, the topic of independence was a very popular topic. Congress felt pressure to make a decision about this topic. The popular opinion of the American people to declare independence. After Britain announced that they would cut off American commerce as well as seize American ships and their cargo; on July 2nd, 1776 the delegates of Congress voted to declared independence. -
John Quincy Adams - Harvard Graduate
“Harvard presented John Quincy with few intellectual challenges, and he graduated second in his class in July 1787, often skipping lectures to go fishing and occasionally dancing so late with Cambridge girls that he overslept and missed classes the next morning” (Unger 67). He made friends with some of the smartest members of his class. He learned to play the flute, joined the Handel Sodality, and kept watch over his two younger brothers that were also attending Harvard. -
John Quincy Adams Bar Exams
John Quincy Adams passed his bar exams a year after George Washing was sworn in as president. In August of 1790 he opened a law office in Boston. He then waited for his family’s famous name to attract clients to this office. -
John Quincy Adams sent to Holland
In 1794, President George Washington had gotten ahold of John Quincy’s letters that were addressed to Edmond Genet. Washington was impressed by John’s writings as well as his command of various languages such as: German, French and Dutch. Washington proposed that John go to Holland and post up in one of Europe’s posts that had diplomatic gossip all around it. Delighted, John closed his law office and headed to Holland. -
John Quincy Adams - Marriage
“John Quincy Adams married Louisa Catherine Johnson in an Anglican service in London on July 26, 1797, with his brother and her parents and sisters attending” (Unger 105). John was 30 and Louisa was 22. They had a three month long honeymoon in the English Countryside. -
John Quincy Adams - U.S. Supreme Court
In February of 1804, John Quincy Adams was sworn in as an attorney and counselor in the U.S. Supreme Court. “He made a point of spending an hour or two a day listening to court proceedings, and, a week after his swearing in, on February 16, 1804, it was his turn to stand and argue his first case---and lose” (Unger 132). John continually outraged Republicans and Federalists at every turn. -
John Quincy Adams - Harvard Professor
In June of 1805, Harvard named John Quincy a professor of oratory and rhetoric. John was a senator at the time, so he worked out terms that allowed him to lecture when the Senate was out of session. He started in 1806 and was payed $348 per quarter. -
John Quincy Adams - Senate Resignation
In 1808, John Quincy Adams viewed the Federalists as the end of American independence. The Massachusetts Federalists met in Boston in May of 1808 to discuss the political and personal destruction of John Quincy Adams. They elected a successor and on June 8, 1808, John Quincy resigned from the Senate. -
The Bank War
Newly elected president Andrew Jackson made his first message of “reform” loud and clear to the public. He disliked the Second Bank of the United States because it was powerful and privileged with wealthy easterners and foreigners controlling its private stock. Jackson decided to oppose the bank after hearing that it bought votes for John Quincy Adams in the 1828 election. This led to Jackson vetoing the bank’s authorization in 1832, causing the Supreme Court to rule that the national bank was c -
John Quincy Adams - Suffers Stroke
In November of 1846, John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke. It happened while he was visiting his son in Boston. The stroke left him speechless and confused while paralyzing his right side. “…when he tried to stand and walk, he fell; he could no longer support himself” (Unger 306). -
The Election of 1852 and the decline of the Whig Party
In 1852, the Democratic platform planned to quiet the discussion of slavery by enforcing the Compromise of 1850. White southerners abandoned the Whig party due to its antislavery support. Northern voters punished the Whigs who supported this compromise. The Whigs selected a candidate in the South to run against someone from the North. The Whigs lost the election, causing their party to shrink in numbers. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave that was brought to states where slavery was illegal for a few years. Scott sued his owners in 1846 claiming that the several years that he spent on free soil made him legally free. He lost his suit and then appealed to the US Supreme Court in 1854. Two major questions arose from this case: is Scott a citizen that should be allowed to sue in court and did the laws of Illinois or Wisconsin prevail over the master’s property right? The final decision made by Chief Justice Ro -
Abraham Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln, early on, made clear his view of slavery being immoral. He constantly reinforced that owning slaves was not a constitutionally protected property right. Lincoln ran for president in 1860 and won in every free state except for New Jersey. After winning the election, white southerners realized that the future of slavery in the Union had no chance of existing.
