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The First Slaves!
The first African slaves arrive in Jamestown, Virginia.
They were brought on the ship, The Elizabeth. The slaves were not allowed to own land or property. They were also not allowed to learn or be taught how to do simple things like reading and writing. They were treated very badly; many lived in harsh conditions and were abused. “Slaves could be bought and sold just like a cow or a horse.” This started something that will last 250 years… -
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Slavery In the United States!
A timeline of important dates thorught the time the United States had slavery. -
Slavery made illegal in Northwest Terriotory.
Slavery is made illegal in the Northwest Territory. U.S Constitution says that congress cannot ban the slave trade until later on. “Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.” -
Invention of the Cotton Gin!
Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton grin (pulled out seeds from cotton bolls) greatly increases the demand for slaves. The machine could generate 50 pounds of clean cotton daily. This made cotton production very profitable in the southern states. -
Gabriel Posser Revolt!
Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved African American blacksmith, organizes a slave revolt intending to march in Richmond, Virginia. The conspiracy is uncovered, and Prosser and a number of the rebels are hanged. Virginia's slave laws are consequently tightened. -
Congress Bans the Importation of Slaves from Africa
In 1807 Congress bans the importation of slaves, effective January 1, 1808. This was the earliest date allowed by the Constitution. The internal slave trade continues in states where the institution is legal. -
The Missouri Compromise!
In the Missouri Compromise, Congress admits the slave state of Missouri and the free state of Maine into the Union, and bans slavery north of the 36° 30' line of latitude in the Louisiana Territory. -
Denmark Vessey's Slave Revolt!
Denmark Vesey, an enslaved African American carpenter who had purchased his freedom, plans a slave revolt with the intent to lay siege on Charleston, South Carolina. The plot was discovered. In result he and 34 coconspirators are hanged. -
The Liberator!
William Lloyd Garrison began publishing the Liberator. It was a weekly paper that advocated the complete abolition of slavery. He became one of the most famous figures in the abolitionist movement. -
Nat Turner Rebeliion!
Nat Turner, an enslaved African American preacher, leads the most significant slave uprising in American history. He and his followers launch a short, bloody, rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. The militia quells the rebellion. Turner is eventually hanged. As the consequence, Virginia instituted much stricter slave laws. -
Prigg v. Pennsylvania
In the Prigg v. Pennsylvania case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, stating that slave-owners had a right to retrieve their "property." With doing this the court rules that Pennsylvania’s anti-kidnapping law is unconstitutional. At the same time, the Supreme Court declared that enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law was a federal responsibility in which states are not compelled to participate in. Between 1842 and 1850, nine Northern states passed new personal liberty -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was an attempt to ban slavery in territory gained in the Mexican War. It was introduced by Democratic representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania. The proviso was blocked by Southerners, but continued to enflame the debate over slavery. -
Harriet Tubman Escapes!
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and became one of the most effective and celebrated leaders of the Underground Railroad -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was introduced into Congress by Henry Clay as an omnibus bill designed to settle disputes arising from the conclusion of the Mexican War. It was passed after Stephen Douglas divided the bill into several parts: California entered the Union as a free state; the slave trade (not meaning slavery) was abolished in Washington D.C.; the fugitive slave law was strengthened; and the Utah and New Mexico Territories were open to slavery on the basis of popular sovereignty. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin!
A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe called Uncle Tom's Cabin was published. It became one of the most influential works to stir anti-slavery sentiments. The book was banned in the South, while Northerners made it a bestseller. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act!
Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The legislation repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and renewed tensions between anti- and proslavery factions. -
Bleeding Kansas
A miniature civil war—known as Bleeding Kansas—erupted in the Kansas Territory over the issue of slavery. In May 1856 a proslavery group attacked the free-soil town of Lawrence. They destroyed and stole property. In response to the "sack of Lawrence," radical abolitionist John Brown and his followers attacked a proslavery settlement at Pottawatomie Creek, they killed five men. By the end of 1856, nearly 200 Kansans had been killed and property worth two million dollars had been damaged. -
Dred Scott Case
The U.S. Supreme Court decided the Dred Scott case. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Roger Taney rules that Scott was still a slave with no standing to sue; that black Americans, who were a slave or free, were not citizens and didn’t have civil rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. The territorial government or the federal government can ban slavery in the territories, thus making the Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise bans unconstitutional. -
Lincoln for U.S. Senate!
Illinois Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln for the United States Senate. In accepting, Lincoln delivered his "House Divided" speech in which he asserted that the nation could not permanently stay half-slave and half-free. Senator Stephen Douglas agreed to an unprecedented series of debates that were held in towns across the states. Although the Democrats won control of the state legislature and reelected Douglas, Lincoln gained notoriety and became a contender for the 1860 presidential nomi -
Harper's Ferry, Virgina
John Brown, a radical abolitionist and veteran of "Bleeding Kansas," failed in his attempt to capture the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, and use the weapons to foment a slave rebellion. Brown and his co-conspirators were hanged,. They became martyrs to the anti-slavery cause in the eyes of some abolitionists. -
The Confederacy
The Confederacy was found when the Deep South secedes (withdraw formally from membership in a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organization). The Confederacy was made up of eleven states, these states were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The Civil War began. -
The Emancipation Proclomation
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared “that all persons held as slaves" within the Confederate state "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
The Civil War Ends!
The Civil War has ended. Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox Court House in VA. Lincoln was assassinated a few days later, on the fourteenth. -
The Thirteenth Amendment.
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States. Six months later slavery in the United States effectively ended when 250,000 slaves in Texas finally received the news that the Civil War had ended two months earlier
