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The First Organized Protest
A group of Quakers from Germantown, Pennsylvania led what was called the Germantown Protest in 1688. They were protesting the existence of slavery in the “new world”. To try and convince people that slavery was wrong, they showed many points about how it went against the teachings of Christianity. Slavery was said to be theft because you were buying something tha -
Pennsylvania Abolition Society
The Pennsylvania Abolition Society was founded in 1775 in Philadelphia. A group of abolitionists were working towards "relief for free Negroes unlawfully held in bondage." This primarily focused on ending slavery and freeing the Negro population. Later, in the 1780s, their mission expanded to "improving the Condition of the African Race." This included things such as offering jobs and education to black youth. -
Vermont abolishes slavery
Vermont became the first government controlled area to abolish slavery. Although not a state yet, slavery was still illegal there. This was a bold move for a few reasons. Because they were the first, what would other states or areas think of their decision? This may have also caused many states to run there to escape slavery, but would this make the slave holders disapprove of them? -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a book called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. This book told stories that all revolved around the negro slave called Uncle Tom. It was also the best selling book of the 19th century. Stowe wrote this book to protest the proslavery movement. She forever changed some American’s views on slavery, but the movement wasn’t ended until the Civil War was over. -
The Dred Scott Case
In 1857, a negro man named Dred Scott appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of escaping slavery. The judge however, was a firm supporter of slavery and denied the man his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, said that the creators of the Constitution had never intended for slavery to be abolished. When asked about the phrase,”All men are created equal,” he insisted that this clearly excluded blacks. This case gave people like Fredrick Douglass a chance to show that slavery was a problem to pe -
Florida and Alambama
On January 10, 1861, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union. This was caused by their want or need for slavery and the north’s opposition to it. The next day, on January 11, Alabama followed Florida’s lead and seceded from the Union as well. These two states followed the example of South Carolina who also seceded in that order. Many other southern states would also secede before the Civil War. -
The Civil War Starts
The Civil War began in 1861 when the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter. Lincoln had promised that he had no intention of ending slavery where it already existed and he did not plan on repealing the Fugitive Slave Act. The Confederacy was still not happy and decided to attack the fort which marked the beginning of the Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln
In 1862, Abraham Lincoln addressed the people. He issued what is called the Emancipation Proclamation. This was supposed to free all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. From the beginning, Lincoln was openly against slavery and led the country in a good direction. -
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1865, the thirteenth amendment was made to the Constitution. The amendment only allowed slavery in the U.S. as punishment for a crime. It read, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The bill was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6 of the same year.
