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European Explorers bring slaves to the Americas
Slavery began in America in 1619, when the first African American Slaves were brought to Jamestown. Slavery was practiced in American colonies through 17-18 centuries, until it was finally abolished in 1865. -
Cotton gin is invented in U.S.
In August of 1793, Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate, created the cotton gin, a machine that seperates cottonseed from the cotton fiber. This made picking cotton much easier and was a major boost in the cotton and slave industry. -
Slavery ends in Great Britian
After the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, all British ships carrying slaves were fined 100 pounds for every slave on board. However, this did not stop the slave trade, and many anti-slavery groups were made. Finally, Parliament made slavery illegal in 1833 with the Abolition of Slavery Act. -
Amistad Trial
In February 1839, a Portugese shit abducted a large amount of Africans from Seirra Leone and sent them to Cuba for slave trade. 53 Africans were purchased for a Spanish plantation and put on the ship Amistad. The Africans seized the ship and killed all the crew memebers, and were sent back to their native land after the trials were over. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 consisted of 5 laws dealing with slavery. California tried to enter the U.S. as a free state, which disrupted the balance of free and slave states in the Union. The compromise abolished slave trade in Washington D.C. and allowed California to join as a free state. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was a law passed by Congress in 1850 that said slave owners can go up to the North and retreve their slaves, if the slaves escape and run up and try to become free. This was a setback in making slaves free. -
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The Civil War in the United States of America
After the South secceded from the combined United States, the North got really mad and conflicts between the two of them, including state taxes and slavery, and a war began. After almost 4 yeas of brutal battle, the South surrendered and rejoined the United States. -
Signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in U.S.
President Lincoln released the Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War. He said that if the Confederacy did not stop fighting and rejoin by Janaury 1, all slaves in the rebellious states would become free. -
Slavery ends in the United States
In 1865, when the Civil War ended, and Licoln was assasinated, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. On JUne 19, slavery finally ended when 250,000 slaves recieved the news that the Civil War was over and they were released. -
U.S. ratifies 13th amendment to the Constitution
The 13th amendment finally ended and made slavery completely illegal, eight months after the Civil War ended. It finally ended the reason that so much trouble had been caused to the country and thousands of blacks were finally free. -
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Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws were a series of laws in the south which inforced segregation in those states that administered them. Under these laws, blacks were second-class citizens and treated poorly. -
Slavery ends in Brazil
Brazil recieved 35% of all enslaved Africans in the Atlantic Slave Trade. More than 3 million of them worked on sugar cane plantations in Brazil. Slavery finally became illegal in 1888, making Brazil the last country in the West to abolish slavery. -
Brown vs. Board of education—U.S. supreme court case
In 1954, in the Brown vs. Board of Education case, the U.S. supreme court found that school segregation by state was a violation of the 14th amendment and illegal. This served as a large milestone in the civil rights movement in the 1900s. Afterward, states became school desegrigation. -
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Civil Right movement for African Americans in the U.S.
The Civil Rights Movement were a series of movements and boycotts by the African American people for equality and indiscrimination. It started when Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting in white-only area of a bus and the murder of Emmett Till. Prejudice finally became illegal and the movements ended. -
Murder of Emmett Till
In August of 1955, a black boy went into a store, and when leaving, he said "Bye baby" to the store owner flirtingly. After a few days two white men came and picked up Emmett. After three days, Till's body was found beat up, an eye gouged out, and a bullet in his head. -
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Freedom Riders movement
Freedom rides were buses trips where the blacks sat in the front and used the white-only areas, while whites sat in the back and used black-only areas. This was used to test several Supreme Court rulings and extend Civil Rights Movements. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
At 6:01 P.M. on April 4, 1968, the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assasinated in Memphis, Tennesse. This was a huge, major blow to the black civil rights movement, and caused riots for days. -
Slavery ends in Mauritania
In 1981, Mauritania, an African country in the Sahara, became the last country to abolish slavery. However, 10%-20% of citizens here are still slaves and slavery didn't actually become a crime until 2007. Only one slave owner has been successfully prosectuted. -
Barack Obama Becomes POTUS
Obama is an African American, and him being elected president was a huge timestone in U.S. and African American history. It signified that American people have accepted blacks.
