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First slaves
The year records indicate the year enslaved Africans arrive in the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
Crispus Attucks, an African American is the first casualty of the American civil war. -
American Revolution
When hostilites commenced between the newly formed United States and the British empire, many African slaves fled to fight for the British as they were promised freedom. In South Carolina for example, 25,000 enslaved African Americans, one-quarter of those held, escape to the British. Some Africans did fight for the colonists though. -
Emancipation of Northern states
The Vermont republic outlaws slavery in 1777, in 1780, Pennsylvania adopts a gradual emancipation law and Massachusets' courts find slavery illegal under their constitution. General George Washington would later write "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it [slavery]." -
Fugitive Slave act of 1793
The act guarenteed the right of a slave holder to retrieve a slave no matter if they have escaped to a free state. -
Cotton gin invented
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin and with this, makes cotton more profitable and easier to sell. One million slaves are brought into massive plantations in the south as demand for cotton increases. -
Missouri Compromise
House Speaker Henry Clay, proposes a bill to admit Maine and Missouri as free states and prohibits slavery above the 36, 30 line. Much of the compromise will be undone with the idea of popular sovereignty in the Kansas-Nebraska voting act of 1854. -
American anti-slavery society
The American Anti-slavery society is founded and is led by former slave Fredrick Douglas. It entered politics through the Free soil party and the Republican Party. -
Prigg v. Pennsylvania
In 1842, the Supreme court struck down a Pennsylvania law criminalizing retrieving a fugitive slave from inside Pennsylvania. The case was started when Edward Prigg was convicted of violating the law in Pennsylvania. -
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Mexican American war
The Mexican war was largely opposed by Whigs in congress as many believed it was a scheme by democrats to admit Texas and several new slave states. -
Uncle Tom's cabin is Published.
The best selling novel of the 19th century, Uncle Tom's cabin is remembered as a key tool of the anti-slavery movement across the nation. -
Election of 1852
The Whig party officially collapses after nominee Winfield Scott loses to Dem. Franklin Pierce, who runs on a pro-slavery platform. -
Republican Party is formed
In March of 1854, the newly formed Republican party is founded in Pittsburg, PA by Francis Preston Blair. The party adopts an anti-slavery platform and nominates John Fremont. He loses to Dem. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. -
Dred Scott decision
The decision held by the supreme court ruled that African-Americans were not American citizens, there for could not sue in court. This will pave the war for a civil war. -
American Civil war
In December of 1860, southern states secede from the Union. President Abraham Lincoln calls for troops to put down the rebelion. The war will last 5 years and kill thousands. But will leave the slaves free with the passage of the 13th ammendment to the constitution. -
Civil Rights act of 1866
Congress passes a law declaring all people born in the United States citizens. It is vetoed by President Andrew Johnson but it is overrided. -
Compromise of 1877
A trade is made that allows federal troops to leave the southern states if republican Rutherford Hayes is elected President. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In this supreme court case, the court found that segregation was constitutional based on the "seperate but equal" doctrine. Case was founded on segregation of public transport in the southern states. -
NAACP is formed
The National Negro Committee is formed to advocate for civil rights for blacks. A year later they change their name to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. -
Jesse Owens takes gold in olympics
American sprinter Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in the 1936 summer olympics at the 100 and 200 meter sprints held in Berlin, Germany. Owens proved a frustration to Adolf Hitler as the Nazi party believed Africans to be "racially inferior", despite the fact he beat the German athletes. -
Tuskegee Airmen fight in WWII
Officially known as the 332nd fighter group, the Tuskegee airmen were prinipally assigned to escort bombers on missions and garnered a reputation as an outstanding squadron as they flew 1578 combat missions and earned the nick-name "red tailed angels" because of the red stripe on their planes. -
Jackie Robinson becomes first black MLB player
Jackie Robinson starts his carrer with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He will become a member of the Baseball hall of fame. -
1948 Democratic Convention
The democrats met to renominate President Harry Truman for a second term however, Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey urged the party to adopt civil right platform. This caused southern democrats to split and form the states rights party and nominate Strom Thurmond for President. Truman will win in 1948. -
Korean War
As part of the UN coalition, the United States sent troops to Korea, this came as in 1951, the army announced it would desegregate the armed forces. 600,000 African-Americans served in the armed forces during the Korean War, it is estimated that more than 5,000 died in combat. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The supreme court overturns the seperate but equal doctrine handed down in Plessy v. Ferguson and declares segregation in schools to be unconstitutional. The court did not actually overturn Plessy v. Ferguson as segregation of mass transport was still legal. The move causes massive protests in the southern states among white families. -
Emmett Till trial
African American teenager Emmett Till whistled at 21 year old Carolyn Bryant when Till entered her parents grocery store. On August 28th, Till was beat to death. The murder prompted an outcry from blacks and whites around the country. Roy Bryant, Carolyn's father and suspected of kidnapping and beating Till, was aquitted for all crimes. -
Rosa Parks defies segregated mass transit
An elderly African American woman, Rosa Parks, secures her place in history when she refuses to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger. She was tried and convicted of disorderly conduct. Days later, 50,000 African Americans living in Montgomery, Alabama began a boycott of the bus system. The protest was led by a dynamic baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr. The boycott lasted for 381 days before the segregation ordinances were repealed. -
Little Rock nine
In early 1957, the Little Rock public schools began to put forward a plan for desegregation. A crisis arose when Gov. Orval Faubus ordered the national guard to block the entry of nine black students into Little Rock Central High School. In response President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas national guard and ordered the 101st airborne to escort the nine students into Little Rock. -
Woolworth sit-in
At 4:30 p.m. several black college students sat down at the lunch counter at woolworth's store in Greensboro, NC. The move was to protest Woolworth's policy of denying services to blacks. Demonstrations spread through the southern states as a result. -
Civil Rights act of 1960
The new law passed by President Dwight Eisenhower gave powers to the department of Justice to investigate hate crimes, inspection of polling places for descrimination, and introduced penalties for denying blacks the right to vote. -
Election of 1960
As GOP nominee Richard Nixon, and Democrat John F. Kennedy both were pro civil rights, the electors from Mississippi and Alabama both voted for Sen. Harry Byrd for President. Kennedy wins the national election. -
Freedom Riders
The freedom riders were protesters who challenged segregation in the southern states. They were met with stiff resistance by members of the Ku Klux Klan and their affiliates in the Government like Bull Conor who organized violence for the riders in the deep south. -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
After being arrested for violating a court injunction on protests. In the letter Martin Luther King Jr. defends his strategy of non violent protest and defended breaking unjust laws. -
Children's crusade
Hundreds of school children marched in Birmingham, Alabama against descrimination. The march halted when city officials used fire hoses and police dogs on the marchers. The protest and images from the protest caused President Kennedy to support civil rights. -
Stand in the schoolhouse door
In an attempt to keep his campaign promise to uphold segregation, Gov. George Wallace blocks entry of two blacks students into Foster Auditorium. He is eventually removed by the National Guard. -
I have a dream speech
On a hot summer day in 1963, over 250,000 rallied at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC for the March for Jobs and Freedom. In his most memorable speech, Martin Luther King Jr. departed from his prepared speech and prompted by Mahalia Jackson to "tell em' about the dream". He spoke about his dream for equality and freedom for people of all races. -
16th street baptist church bombing
Early on the morning of September 15th, four members of the United Klans of America placed timed explosives under the steps of the 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls were killed and 22 more wounded. One bomber, Robert Chambliss was eventually tried and found guilty. An outcry of support came for civil rights came as a result and resulted in the passage of the civil rights act of 1964. -
President Kennedy is killed
President Kennedy is shot in Dallas, Texas just months after announcing his support for civil rights. Vice President Lyndon Johnson decides to continue Kennedy's agenda. -
24th amendment to the constitution
The 24th amendment abolishes poll taxes across the nation. Poll taxes in southern states had previously kept blacks from voting. -
Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity
One of the most controversial members of the civil rights movement, Malcolm X started his carrier with a radical group known as the nation of islam. The group was founded on the idea that whites were devils and rejected the idea of non-violent protest. He later split with the radical teachings of the nation of islam, and joined the civil rights movement. Malcolm X continued to be a spokesman for black unity until his assassination in 1965. -
Civil rights act of 1964
The law bans descrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also ended segregation in public schools and the workplace. It also ended unequal voter applications. -
Bloody Sunday
In a voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, 600 protesters were attacked by police with tear gas, and by deputised men in Selma. -
Voting Rights act of 1965
Bans descrimination of voting based on race. Also banned literacy tests and other devices of descrimination. -
Opposition to the Vietnam War
In 1965, civil rights leaders began to protest the US involvment in the war in South Vietnam including Martin Luther King. King advocated for President Lyndon Johnson to reroute funds from the war in Vietnam to social welfare programs in the US. -
Loving v. Virginia
The supreme court strikes down bans on interracial marriage. The case is based the on Richard and Mildred Loving, who were violating Virginia's ban on interracial marriage. -
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American justice on the Supreme Court. -
I've been to the mountain top speech
In his final speech at the Mason Temple at Memphis, Tennessee. The topic of the speech was the Memphis sanitation strike and continuation of peaceful protest. King also foreshadowed his death in the end of the speech he wrote "Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King is killed by James Earl Ray outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He is pronounced dead at 7:05 pm. Eulogies poured in from Sen. Robert Kennedy and Pres. Lyndon Johnson. -
Civil Rights act of 1968
Also known as the Fair housing act, it prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or gender. -
Election of 1968
By far, 1968 was America's most turbulient year. Following the riots over the Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy assassinations, and the rise of the black power movement, many Americans wanted a president who could restore law and order and end American involvment in South Vietnam. Republican candidate Richard Nixon campaigned on law and order and beat democrat Hubert Humphrey and independent George Wallace. -
Congressional Black Caucus formed
Nine black members of congress come together to form the congressional black caucus. Currently it has 43 members. -
Rodney King Trial and Riots
African-American Rodney King was traveling on I-210 outside Los Angeles, CA. He was stopped by 4 highway patrol officers beaten, tasered, tackeled, and cuffed. The 4 officers were charged with use of excessive force. On the seventh day of the trial, the four officers were aquitted. On April 29, 1992 massive riots broke out in Los Angeles over the verdict. On the third day, President George HW Bush adressed the nation and sent 2000 soldiers and 1500 marines to stop the riots. The riots ended May6 -
Colin Powell becomes Secretary of State
Colin Powell became Secretary of State to President George W. Bush, he is the first African American to serve in that post. In addition he was National Security Advisor to President Reagan, and a 4 star General who commanded the liberation of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. -
Barack Obama
Sen. Barack Obama is the first African American elected President of the United States. -
Michael Steele
Michael Steele is the first African-American to Chair the Republican National Committee.
