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Apr 24, 1500
Middle Passage
Africans were transported to the Americas, where they were traded for sugar and tobacco. -
Apr 24, 1550
Mulattos
Black and Spanish mixed races in the spanish colonies -
Chattel Slavery
Ownership of human beings; a system of bondage in which a slave has the legal status of property and so can be bought as sold like property. -
Manumission
The act of a slave owner freeing their slaves. Many of the new states passed laws allowing slaveholders to declare slaves free by filing papers. -
Stono Rebellion
The most impactful slave rebellion (SC). 100 African Americans rose up, got weapons and killed several whites then tried to escape to S. Florida. The uprising was crushed and the participants executed. Many tried to flee, but they failed to reach asylum. -
New York Emancipation Act of 1799
Allowed slavery in New York to continue until 1828 and freed slave children only at the age of 25. Consequently, as late as 1810, almost 30,000 blacks in the northern states were still enslaved. -
Rev. Richard Allen
An African American preacher who helped start the Free African Society and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. -
American Colonizations Society
Reflecting the focus of early abolitionists which was transporting freed blacks back to Africa, the organization established Liberia. Liberian was an african settlement intended as a haven for emancipated slaves. -
Tallmadge Amendment
Representative Tallmadge proposed an amendment to the bill for Missouri's admission to the Union, which the House passed but the Senate blocked. The amendment would have prohibited the further introduction of slaves into Missouri and would have mandated the emancipation of slaves' offspring born after the state was admitted. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state, thus, unbalancing the Union the ratio of slave states. The compromise set it up so that Maine joined as a free state and Missouri joined as a slave state. Congress also made a line across the southern border of Missouri saying except for the state of Missouri, all states north of that line must be free states or states without slavery. -
David Walker
Was an outspoken African American activist who demanded the immediate end of slavery in the new nation. A leader within the Black enclave in Boston, Massachusetts, he published in 1829 his Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World: a call to "awaken my brethren" to the power within Black unity and struggle. -
Underground Railroad
A network of abolitionists that secretly helped slaves escape to freedom by setting up hiding places and routes to the North. Harriet Tubman was a key person to its success. -
Abolitionism
The support for a complete, immediate, and uncompensated end to slavery. In the North before the Civil War, there were only a few abolitionists and these were generally considered radicals. However, they were prominent and vocal, and as sectional tension mounted, they became more prominent and influential. -
Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion
Slaves wanted freedom; Nat Turner saw "vision" and attacked whites in Southampton County, VA;Turner, 70 slaves, & 55 whites killed; Turner caught; he was executed & hundreds of slaves were punished; Frightened South; Tightened slave codes; Restricted freedom for all blacks in South; South began to aggressively defend slavery as "positive good" -
William Lloyd Garrison
Most conspicuous and most vilified of the abolitionists, published "The Liberator" in Boston, helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society; favored Northern secession and renounced politics. -
American Anti-Slavery Society
Founded in 1833 by William Lloyd Garrison and other abolitionists. Garrison burned the constitution as a proslavery document and argued for "no union with slaveholders," at least until they repented for their sins by freeing their slaves. -
Gag Rule in Congress
strict rule passed by pro-southern Congressmen in 1836 to prohibit all discussion of slavery in the House or Representatives. -
Elijah P. Lovejoy
An American Presbyterian minister, journalist, and newspaper editor who was murdered by a mob in Alton, Illinois for his abolitionist views. -
American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
Organization led by the Tappan brothers that opposed the radical ideas of William Lloyd Garrison, especially his attack on the churches and the constitution; it followed a more moderate approach and supported the political activities of the Liberty Party. -
Fredrick Douglass
Influential writer; prominent African American figure in the abolitionist movement; escaped from slavery in Maryland; published his own antislavery newspaper called the north star and wrote an autobiography that was published in 1845. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Congress requires police in free states to return fugitive slaves to there masters in the south. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe; it highly influenced the abolition movement and increased sectional tensions. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Scott was a black slave who had lived with his master for five years in Illinois and Wisconsin territory. He sued for his freedom on the basis of his long residence in free territory. The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was a black slave and not a citizen. Hence, he could not sue in a federal court. -
Lincoln Douglas Debate
Debate over the merits of slavery between Sen. Douglas and Lincoln. -
Emancipation Proclamation
It was issued by Lincoln as a way to broaden the goals of the war and achieve a moral victory, but through its principles it freed absolutely no slaves on the day it was given; changed the purpose of the war and caused Europeans to withdraw from supporting south. -
Freedmen's Bureau
The first kind of primitive welfare agency used to provide food, clothing, medical care, and education to freedman and to white refugees.First to establish school for blacks to learn to read. -
Sharecropping
Sharecropping was a system of work for freedmen who were employed in the cotton industry. This system traded a freedmen's labor for the use of a house, land, and sometimes further accommodations. They would usually give half or more of their grown crop to their landlords. -
Southern Reconstruction
Period after the Civil War during which Northern political leaders created plans for the governance of the South and a procedure for former Southern states to rejoin the Union; Southern resentment of this era lasted well into the twentieth century. Blacks were significantly targeted once federal troops in the south left in 1877. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
An act declaring that everyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of slavery. -
Race Riots
Tensions between blacks and whites; freedmen organized black meetings at which they protested ill treatment
and demanded equal rights. These meetings occurred
in a climate of violence. As a result, race riots erupted in major
southern cities, such as Memphis, in May, 1866. Riots also occurred in New Orleans two months later, despite Congress
imposing military rule. -
Black Codes
The Black Codes were laws passed by southern states after the Civil War denying ex-slaves the complete civil rights enjoyed by whites and intended to force blacks back to plantations and impoverished lifestyles. -
14th amendment
Citizenship given to ex-slaves.
Three-fifths clause abolished.
Leading ex-Confederates denied office.
Ex-Confederates forced to repudiate their debts and pay pensions to their own (CSA) veterans, plus taxes for the pensions of Union veterans.
Congress has the power to enforce this via legislation. -
15th amendment
Prohibited denial of suffrage by states to any citizen on basis of race, color, or previous servitude; enfranchised northern blacks who might vote republican. -
Hiram Revels
He was the first African-American senator to the Mississippi seat previously occupied by Jefferson Davis. Born to free black parents in North Carolina, he worked as a minister throughout the South before entering politics. After serving for just one year, he returned to Mississippi to head a college for African American males. -
Lynchings
blacks were illegally persecuted and hung by mobs of whites. Occurred primarily from reconstruction up until the 1960s. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Passed legislation that guaranteed access to transportation and hotels for all blacks; repealed blacks codes and removed restrictions on workers; prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection; became a watered down bill that the Supreme Court eventually struck down -
US v. Cruikshank
Following the Colfax Massacre, William Cruikshank argued that his conviction was unconstitutional because the his actions weren't under the authority of federal law. The Supreme Court overturned Cruikshank's conviction, saying that the federal government could only regulate the actions of states regarding civil rights, it was up to the states to regulate the actions of individuals. This limited the power of the 14th and 15th amendments, as well as the Civil Rights Acts. -
Jim Crow
Laws written to separate blacks and whites in public areas. As a result, African Americans had unequal opportunities in housing, work, education, and government. -
Democrats and the "Solid South"
After Reconstruction, the South became extremely Democratic. Once they gained control, the Democrats cut back expenses, wiped out social programs, lowered taxes, and limited the rights of tenants and sharecroppers. These white southerners remained a major force in national politics well into the 20th century. -
Civil Rights Cases (1883)
A case in which the court ruled that Congress could not legislate against the racial discrimination practiced by private citizens, which included railroads, hotels, and other businesses used by the public. -
W.E.B DuBois
Fought for immediate implementation of African American rights; Opponent of Booker T Washington, he helped to found Niagara Movement in 1905 to fight for and establish equal rights. This movement later led to the establishment of the NAACP. -
Booker T. Washington
Former slave, he encouraged blacks to focus on the daily tasks of survival. Believed that building a strong economic base was more critical at that time than planning an uprising or fighting for equal rights. Washington also stated in his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech in 1895 that blacks had to accept segregation in the short term as they focused on economic gain to achieve political equality in the future. Served as important role models for later leaders of the civil rights movement. -
Williams v. Mississippi
The court declared constitutional the use of poll taxes, literacy test, and residential requirements to discourage blacks and poor whites from voting. -
United Negro Improvement Association
a Black Nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey -
Harlem Renaissance
black artistic movement in New York City in the 1920s, when writers, poets, painters, and musicians came together to express feelings and experiences, especially about the injustices of Jim Crow; leading figures of the movement included Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes. -
Jazz Music
Name for the 1920s, because of the popularity of a new type of American music that combined African rhythms, blues, and ragtime. Originally African American. -
Pan-Africanism
Philosophy based on the belief that Africans share common bonds and are a unified people. Adopted this philosophy to break from colonial rule. -
Marcus Garvey
brought the United Negro Improvement Association from Jamaica to Harlem; advocated individual and racial pride for African Americans; developed ideas of black nationalism; established an organization for black separatism, economic self sufficiency, and a back-to-Africa movement; his sale of stock in the Black Star Steamship line led to federal charges of fraud; he was tried, convicted, jailed and deported to Jamaica; inspiration for the nation of Islam -
Nation of Islam
A religious group, popularly known as the Black Muslims, founded by Elijah Muhammad to promote black separatism and the Islamic religion. -
Executive Order 8802
passed by FDR to prohibited discriminatory employment practices by fed agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war related work. It also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new policy. -
Congress of Racial Equality
Nonviolent civil rights organization committed to the "Double V" campaign, or victory over fascism abroad and racism at home. After World War II, CORE became a major force in the civil rights movement. -
Executive Order 9981
Truman desegregated the military. His support for civil rights cost him southern votes in the 1948 election. -
Strom Thurmond and the States' Rights Democratic Party
South Carolina governor who ran for president against Truman in 1948 on the dixiecrat ticket. Used States' Rights to justify racist policy stances. -
What was the origins civil rights movement
the cold war (competition btwn. freedom and democracy and totalitarian communism); changing demographics; Truman's legislation -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Topeka board of education denied Linda Brown admittance to an all white school due to her race. Thurgood Marshall argued that separate but equal violated equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Justice Warren decided separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Murdered in 1955 for whistling at a white woman; her husband an his friends kidnapped him and brutally killed him; his death increased the American Civil Rights movement. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
After Rosa Parks was arrested, MLK rallied the black community to boycott Montgomery buses. This seriously hurt the bus companies and lasted more than a year, ending in '56 when the SC declared segregated buses unconstitutional. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Organization formed by MLK in 1957
-Aimed to mobilize the vast power of the black churches on behalf of black rights
-Trained and tested African Americans ability to remain calm so they could participate nonviolently in marches and "sit ins" -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
The Greensboro Sit-ins were protests where 4 students from the NC Agricultural and Technical College sat down at whites only lunch counter. Once they were there, they refused to move. Each day, they came back with many more protesters. Sometimes, there were over 100. These sit-ins led to the formation of the SNCC. Led to sit-ins across the country. -
Freedom Rides
organized mixed-race groups who rode interstate buses deep into the South to draw attention to and protest racial segregation. This effort by northern young people to challenge racism proved a political and public relations success for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964) -
March on Washington
Massive civil rights demonstration in August, 1963 in support of Kennedy-backed legislation to secure legal protections for American blacks. One of the most visually impressive manifestations of the Civil Rights Movement, it was the occasion of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Federal law that banned racial discrimination in public facilities and strengthened the federal government's power to fight segregation in schools. Title VII of the act prohibited employers from discriminating based on race in their hiring practices, and empowered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to regulate fair employment. -
Selma March
MLK organizes a march in Selma. Tens of thousands of black protesters petition for the right to vote outside of the city hall and are ignored; then, they marched to the governors' mansion in Montgomery; police meet them with tear gas and clubs. "Bloody Sunday" is highly publicized and Americans in the North are shocked. -
Black Nationalism
Spurred by Malcolm X and other black leaders, a call for black pride and advancement without the help of whites; this appeared to be a repudiation of the calls for peaceful integration urged by MLK. -
Malcom X
Minister of the Nation of Islam, urged blacks to claim their rights by any means necessary, more radical than other civil rights leaders of the time. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks. As more blacks became politically active, it brought jobs, contracts, facilities and services for the black community while encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the wealth and education gap. -
Black Panther Party
African-American organization established to promote Black Power and self-defense through acts of social agitation. It was active in the United States from the mid-1960s into the 1970s.The Black Panther Party achieved national and international presence through their deep involvement in the local community. Black power displayed strong militancy and permanently altered American identity. -
Black Power
emphasized racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to nurture and promote black collective interests, advance black values, and secure black autonomy. Often Black Power advocates were open to use violence as a means of achieving their aims, but this openness to violence was nearly always coupled with community organizing work. In direct conflict to MLK's mission. -
Thurgood Marshall
American civil rights lawyer; first black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall was a tireless advocate for the rights of minorities and the poor.