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Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Jan 1, 1500
European Explorers bring slaves to the Americas
When Christopher Colombus discovered the New World, Europeans started to bring Africans to work there as slaves. Many slaves died due to overwork. -
The Cotton Gin is Invented
Eli Whitney invented this machine to help pick the seeds out of cotton more efficently. Unfortuneatley, more slaves were needed to plant the cotton. -
Slavery ends in Great Britain
In 1772 , slavery became illegal in England. Over time, all around Great Britain, slavery became illegal as well. On August 1st, 1834 all slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise was a package of five "rules", advising the free states and the slave states to have peace. A man called Henry Clay wrote the compromise, and it helped avoid civil war and reduce conflict for four years! -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act was passed on by the United States Congress. It stated that "all runaway slaves were, upon capture, to be returned to their masters. (Wikipedia)" Some called it the Bloodhound Law; dogs were used to find runaway slaves. -
Slavery ends in Russia
Tsar Alexander ll abolished slavery in Russia on March 3rd, 1861. He told his friends that it was better to end slavery, rather than having the people of Russia cause an uprising. -
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The Civil War in the United States of America
This war resolved questions that were not answered in the Revolution. The lasting effects include the U.S. abolishing slavery and reuniting as one, indivisible nation. -
Signing of the Emantipation Proclamation in U.S.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation as the U.S neared its third year in the war-zone. The document reads: "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Slavery ends in the United States
The thirteeneth amendment, which was passed on by the Senate in April 1864, was the cause of slave freedom. On December 6th, 1865 three fourths of the United States ratified the amendment and all remaining slaves were free. -
U.S. ratifies 13th amendment to the Constitution
The 13th amendment states that: "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."
After being passed by the Congress, the 13th amendment was ratified by the states. -
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Jim Crow Laws
From the 1880s to the 1960s, many U.S. states placed Jim Crow Laws, which were rules about how white and colored races should be joined. According to these laws, people from different race colors could not consort in any way, including marriage, ordered business owners and public institutions. An example- Buses: All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races. -
Brown vs. Board of education- the U.S. supreme court case
On this date, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away any unequal thoughts about race. On this day, the court demanded and made law that all education would be equal, no matter what race a person is. -
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Freedom Riders movement
One day, Rosa Parks, a seamstress, refused to give her bus seat to a white man. Her defience of Jim Crow laws set the nation into realization, as well as put Martin Luther King Junior into the spotlight. Six years later, men and women came to take "Freedom Rides", where races mixed and traveled together, ignoring signs saying "for whites" or "for colored". The riders were punished, but were seen as heroes, just like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. -
Martin Luther King Junior's Assasination
The civil rights leader got shot by a sniper bullet while standing on his balcony. He was taken to a hospital immediatley, but was not saved. -
Last country to ban slavery
Although slavery was not made a crime, it was still abolished in Mauritania, as the last country to ban slavery. Mauritania is in Africa. Slavery was abolished by a presidential decree in 1981.