Final Timeline History Project

By Colby Shick
  • Establishment of Portuguese trading posts on coast of West Africa.
    1434

    Establishment of Portuguese trading posts on coast of West Africa.

    Upon reaching the coast of Africa, specifically Guinea, Portuguese captains began trading for various good such as ivory, gold, and pepper. However they were also interested in trading for slaves.
  • Period: 1434 to

    Twenty of the Most Important Events In African American History

  • First reports of African slaves arriving in British North America (Jamestown).

    First reports of African slaves arriving in British North America (Jamestown).

    Reportedly thirty-two Africans living in Jamestown with twenty more arriving the same year.
  • Vermont bans slavery

    Vermont bans slavery

    Vermont becomes the first state in The Union to officially ban slavery. Additionally, Emancipation began in the North this year as well.
  • Abolishment of Atlantic Slave Trade by U.S.

    Abolishment of Atlantic Slave Trade by U.S.

    The United States officially abolishes the Atlantic Slave Trade.
  • Underground Railroad

    Underground Railroad

    The Underground Railroad consisted of several loosely organized, semi-secret biracial networks that helped slaves escape from the border South to the North and Canada.
  • Dred Scott Supreme Court Case

    Dred Scott Supreme Court Case

    Dred Scott, a slave, sues for his freedom in the Supreme Court and loses the case.
  • Harpers Ferry

    Harpers Ferry

    John Brown led a raid on Harpers Ferry Arsenal. The raid failed to lead to a major slave insurrection, but it inflamed major controversy over slavery in the North and South.
  • Emancipation Proclamation

    Emancipation Proclamation

    President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing salves in Confederate states.
  • The 13th Amendment

    The 13th Amendment

    The 13th Amendment is added to the U.S. Constitution, officially abolishing slavery.
  • Election of Black political leaders in the South/

    Election of Black political leaders in the South/

    Black political leaders are elected to local and state offices within Southern states.
  • The 15th Amendment

    The 15th Amendment

    The 15th Amendment is added to the U.S. Constitution, granting African American men the right to vote.
  • NAACP Founding

    NAACP Founding

    The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is established.
  • Desegregation of the U.S. Military

    Desegregation of the U.S. Military

    President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9981, officially desegregating the military.
  • Desegregation of public schools

    Desegregation of public schools

    The Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
  • Rosa Parks

    Rosa Parks

    Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery Alabama bus, igniting the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
  • Lynching of Emmett Till

    Lynching of Emmett Till

    The lynching of Emmett Till and subsequent acquittal of his murderers reflected the low regard in which black life was held in the Jim Crow South and the extent to which whites were determined to maintain the racial status quo.
  • Voting RIghts Act

    Voting RIghts Act

    The Voting Rights Act is signed into law, eliminating discriminatory voting practices.
  • MLK Speech

    MLK Speech

    Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C.
  • Civil RIghts Act

    Civil RIghts Act

    The Civil RIghts Act is signed into law, prohibiting discrimination based on race, skin color, religion, sex, or national origin.
  • Loving v. Virginia

    Loving v. Virginia

    Loving, v. Virginia was a Supreme Court Case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage within the United States.