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The first transatlantic journey of a ship carrying enslaved Africans to Brazil, under Portuguese order, begins the history of American continental slavery. -
The Privateer White Lion lands at Point Comfort, modern day Virginia, with a cargo of "20 and odd" enslaved Africans. This will be the first of many such treks. -
A legal code developed to regulate the behavior of the enslaved, greatly limiting their rights and privileges. -
An attempted insurrection led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginian governor William Berkeley, in an attempt to reform social order. It's failure served to ignite the desire for a new class of enslaved to fulfill growing labor needs. -
The official beginning of a war against tyranny whose ideals, while not realized, would inspire both white and black to work towards a free America. -
Likely not the first, Vermont is the first official colony to ban slavery. While its language is broad, and slave population is among the lowest in the colonies, it serves as an important first step towards emancipation. -
A compromise to ensure that the southern states would enter the United States as the constitution was ratified. The south was firm that any move towards the abolition of southern slavery would be a non-starter, and as such the south gained representation for it's black population while solving the issues of taxation. -
The Framework of the legal division and organization of government within the United States. This "living document" is the foundation upon which any acts enabling freedom or civil rights would be attached in the form of amendments. -
This invention revolutionized cotton production, but far from reducing the demand for labor, its creation increased it, as a greater number of laborers was required to cultivate and pick the cotton. Slave labor was thus in high demand and became integral to the southern economy. -
A group of Africans commandeered a ship during their transport to the Caribbean to work as slaves on a plantation.
Bringing their case to federal court, the Africans murder charges were dropped and they eventually were returned to West Africa. -
Having sued for his freedom, and being denied, a precedent was formed that blacks are not citizens are therefore not entitled to the protections afforded under the U.S. Constitution. -
Militant abolitionist John Brown led an insurrection at an armory in Harpers Ferry in hopes of leading a slave revolt. While his efforts failed, his actions furthered tensions in anticipation of the Civil War. -
With tensions coming to a head between the North and South, Civil War ignites. Slavery is one of the chief issues at hand, and a years-long, bloody battle ensues. -
Lincoln issues his order that "all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free." -
The 13th Amendment to the constitution officiates the end of slavery. -
With the war won, Lincoln's assassination reflects a bitter and hostel south and the turbulent journey ahead. -
An amendment to the constitution guaranteeing all men, regardless of color, the right to vote. -
A set of laws with a goal to keep African Americans in subjugation despite the inclusion of blacks as citizens with the right to vote now protected by the constitution -
Striking a blow to "Separate but Equal," it is ruled by the Supreme Court that the separation of children in school based on race is unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American boy, is brutally murdered after a preserved lewd remark to a white woman. In the trial that followed, the defendants are found not guilty of murder by an all white jury. -
After the death of Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson assumes offices, and beings an aggressive Civil Rights campaign. -
The culmination of years of civil works activism result in landmark legislation which enacts protects African Americans and prohibits discrimination. This profound legislation, while not the end of the civil rights battle, is one of the greatest pushes to create a free and equal society.