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British Ships are Banned From Transporting Slaves
Britain bans the slave trade but not slavery itself. The ban made it illegal for British ships to transport slaves, and a blockade was established off the African coast to enforce the ban. The ban technically applied only to British ships but most countries supported it and gave the Royal Navy the right to search ships for slaves, with the exception of the United States. -
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Civil Rights
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Slavery: A Great Evil
James Madison acknowledged that slavery was a great evil, but still thought of his small number of enslaved laborers as property. He also supported the American Colonization Society's campaign to return freed blacks to Africa after compensating owners. -
The Import of Slaves is Banned in the US
The United States outlawed the importing of new slaves on January 1. U.S. Constitution, Article 1 Section 9 was written to protect the slave trade for twenty years after ratification. In exchange for a 20-year ban on restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade, southern delegates of the Constitution Convention agreed to remove a clause that restricted national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels. -
Deaf Peoples Gain Education
The American School for the Deaf is founded. -
Rebellion Ensues
Nathaniel "Nat" Turner leads a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, that resulted in 56 deaths among their victims. Afterwords, Turner was convicted and executed. In the aftermath, the state executed 56 blacks accused of being part of Turner's slave rebellion. Two hundred were lynched. Many southern states passed laws prohibiting education of slaves and free blacks, restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for free blacks, and requiring white ministers to be present at black wo -
Organization of Efforts
The American Anti-Slavery Society was established. -
The Trail of Tears
As part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up their land east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to a place in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," due to the fact that the move and conditions caused many to die. -
Mental Health is Recognized
The Perkins Institution, founded by Samuel Gridley Howe in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first residential institution for people with mental retardation. Over the next century, hundreds of thousands of developmentally disabled children and adults were institutionalized, often for the duration of their lives. -
The Declaration of Sentiments
The first Women's Rights Convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. About three hundred women and men attended the Convention, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass. -
Sweet Chariot
Harriet Tubman starts to smuggle slaves out and across the Mason Dixon line. During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. -
A Vote on Slavery
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854, allowing people in Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. -
Dred Scott Case
The Dred Scott case lead to the ruling that congress has no right to ban slavery in states and also ruled that slaves are not citizens. -
John Brown Revolt
In an attempt to launch a slave revolt, John brown along with 21 followers manage to capture the federal arsenal at Harper’s ferry in Virginia. -
Confederacy & the Civil War Begin
The succession of the south leads to the formation of the confederacy. The civil war begins. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation proclamation which states that “all persons held as slaves” in the Confederate states are now free. -
Freedmen’s Bureau Act
The Freedmen’s Bureau act is passed by Congress to protect the rights of newly emancipated African Americans. -
End of the Civil War
The civil war comes to an end when Robert E. Lee surrenders the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. -
Lincoln is Assassinated
President Lincoln is assassinated in Ford theater by John Wilkes Booth, a confederate supporter. -
Slavery is Abolished
The thirteenth amendment is ratified, prohibiting slavery. -
Black Codes
Southern states passed black codes which severely reduced the rights of newly freed slaves. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified which defined citizenship. Individuals who are born or naturalized in the United States are considered American citizens, even those born as slaves. This nullifies the Dred Scott Case from 1857, which had ruled that blacks were not citizens. -
Fifteenth Amendment
The fifteenth amendment is ratified allowing black to vote. -
The Black Exodus
The black exodus occurs when thousands of African Americans migrate from southern states to Kansas. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This monumental verdict by the Supreme Court states that racial segregation is constitutional. This decision leads to the formation of repressive Jim Crow laws in the South. -
The NAACP Holds its First Convention
On May 31, 1909 the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) holds its first convention in New York City. More than 300 white and African American people attended the conference, featuring Ida B. Wells as a speaker.
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National “Negro History week” is Founded
On February 7, 1926, the Association for the Study of Negro life and History founded “Negro History week” to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass's birthdays. This is recognized as the foundation for the later creation of Black History month.
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Hattie McDaniel is the First African American to Win an Academy Award
On February 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel wins an Academy Award for her role in Gone with the Wind.
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Executive Order 9981 is Issued, Desegregating the Military
On July 26, 1948 President Truman ordered that the U.S. desegregates its military, on not only race but also religion. "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."
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Brown v. Board of Education Decision Desegregates U.S. Public Schools
On May 17, 1954, the unanimous decision by the supreme court overturned the previous decision in 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson that allowed for segregation of schools by ruling it unconstitutional.
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Rosa Parks is Arrested for Refusing to Give Up Her Bus Seat
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks made an infamous decision to refuse to give up her seat at the front of the bus to a white woman. This violated the Alabama law requiring blacks to give up her seat to a white person when the bus was full. Her action is regarded as a big moment in the civil rights movement- and sparked a boycott on the Montgomery bus system that lasted over a year. Source -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 5, 1955, after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, a boycott of the Montgomery bus system was started and lasted a little over a year, until December 20, 1956, after the U.S. supreme court told Montgomery to integrate their bus system.
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President John F. Kennedy Issued Executive Order 10925, Asserting Affirmative Action
On March 6, 1961, Kennedy ordered all government contractors to not hire people based on their race. The purpose of this order was to ensure equal opportunity.
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James Meredith Becomes the First African American to Attend the University of Mississippi
On October 1, 1962 James Meredith attends the University of Mississippi, which caused a lot of mixed reactions. There were many riots, and President John F. Kennedy had to send the Mississippi National Guard to calm down the rioters and to protect Meredith.
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Martin Luther King Jr. is Arrested During Anti-Segregation Protests
On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for being in a protest in Birmingham, Alabama. He violated the state's law against “mass public demonstrations”.
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Martin Luther King Jr. Recites His Famous “I Have A Dream” Speech in Washington
On August 28, 1963, King gave his speech to over 250,000 attending the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. People of all kinds came together to march in Washington D.C. This event, like Rosa Parks’ bus ride, is an infamous moment in the civil rights movement in America.
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4 Young African American Girls are Killed in Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing
On September 15, 1963, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins were attending Sunday service church at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church had largely African American membership and was also used as a meeting place for civil rights leaders like MLK Jr. It is thought that the bombing was carried out by the Klu Klux Klan. source -
The 24th Amendment
The poll tax, which originally made it difficult for poor blacks to vote was abolished by the 24th Amendment. -
Malcolm X is Assassinated
Malcolm X is assassinated on his way to give a speech in New York on the 21st of February. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other things that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is passed , which made it easier for Southern blacks to register and vote. -
Black Panthers are Founded
The Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Black Panthers was a political organization that stood for black rights. -
Interracial Marriage Passed
The Supreme Court rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional in the Loving v. Virginia case. -
Assassination of MLK Jr.
Martin Luther King is shot on the balcony outside his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is signed by President Johnson, which prohibited discrimination in the rental, sale, and financing of housing. -
Another Step Towards Integration in Public Schools
In Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, the Supreme Court requires busing as a step towards achieving integration in public schools. -
Civil Rights Restoration Act
Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which widens the reach of non-discrimination laws making private institutions receiving federal funds follow them as well. -
Civil Rights Act of 1991
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is signed by President Bush, which strengthened existing civil rights laws and cases of intentional employment discrimination. -
First Race Riot in Decades
In Los Angeles, California the first race riot in decades breaks out after four white police officers are videotaped beating an African American, Rodney King, and the jury finds them not guilty. -
Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court rules that race can be a category by which a college can choose their students off of. -
Civil Rights Violation in Ferguson Missouri
The Justice Department opens an investigation into the police department in Ferguson, Missouri because an unarmed African- American teen was shot and killed. -
Gay Marriage is Legalized
On June 26, 2015, the supreme court ruled that states could not choose whether or not to legalize gay marriage. -
Homemade Clocks
14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed is arrested by police after a clock he made at home was suspected of being a bomb.
