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Slavery Begins in North America
The first record of African slavery in English colonial America -
New York Slave Revolt of 1712
The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 was an uprising in New York City of 23 enslaved African Americans who killed nine whites and injured another six. Nearly three times that number of blacks, 70, were arrested and jailed. Of these, 27 were put on trial, and 21 convicted and executed. This was the first of many full scale revolts in North America. -
First Constitutional Abolishment of Slavery
The Constitution of Vermont (a sovereign nation at the time) abolishes slavery; becoming the first future state of the United States to do so. -
Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion
Nat Turner leads the United State's most successful slave rebellion in United States history. Slaves killed 55 white citizens in Southampton County, Virginia. -
United States v. Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad
Supreme Court case involving a spanish schooner upon which the slave captives revolted and sailed back to Africa, only to be caught by the United States Navy and costitutionally sent back to Africa. The first successful slave revolt in the United States. -
Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect
The Emancipation Proclamation consists of two executive orders issued by then President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. The first one (issued September 22, 1862) declared the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to Union control by January 1, 1863. The second order, issued January 1, 1863, named ten specific states where it would apply. It was the first unequivocal federal stance against slavery. -
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a crime) immediately and forever more in the United States -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The civil rights act asserted that all persons born in the United States are now citizens. -
Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed the right of male citizens of the United States to vote regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation even in public accommodations (particularly railroads), under the doctrine of "separate but equal".
