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Declaration Ignores Slaves
The Declaration of Independence declared that "all men were created equal". It did not deal with slavery explicitly but contained a clause attacking the king for emancipating slaves and arming them to fight against the colonists. -
Second Continental Congress Ends Slaves Trade
The Second Continental Congress resolves "that no slaves be imported into any of the 13 United Colonies" -
Vermont Outlaws Slavery
The Vermont state Constitution outlaws slavery. -
Massachusetts Outlaws Slavery
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Gradual Emancipation in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania adopts the first "gradual emancipation" law. Under this statute, no new slaves can be brought into the state, and the children of all existing slaves will be freed when they turn 28. Slaves born before the passage of this act are condemned to a lifetime of servitude. Only those born after July 4th, 1780 will be born free. -
Gradual Emancipation in Connecticut and Rhode Island
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NorthWest Ordinance
The Continental Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance, prohibiting slavery in the territories north of Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River. -
Slave Trade Forbidden
New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania forbid their citizens from participating in the slave trade. -
Haitian Civil War
Civil War erupts in the French colony of St. Domingue, a Caribbean island. Slaves of the north province rise in mass revolt under the leadership of fellow Black bondsman Toussaint LOuverture. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Law. The statute enforces a measure in the Constitution that denies a jury trial to an alleged fugitive slave and authorizes any federal or state judge to decide that individual's fate. Many Northern leaders oppose the law, which they interpret as a direct assault on personal liberty. -
Eli Whitney Invents Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, which allows for the cultivation of short- staple cotton and revolutionizes the industry, dramatically increasing its profitability and the land areas that can be utilized for growing the crop. This dictates the westward spread of cotton growing and its backbone: slave labor. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Legislators from Virginia and Kentucky adopt a series of resolutions in an act of protest against the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts passed in 1798. The resolutions, written by Vice President Thomas Jefferson and Congressman James Madison, denounce the Acts as unconstitutional, and assert the right of states to reject any federal law that violates the Constitution. In later years, South Carolina will interpret these resolutions as an affirmation of state power to nullify federal law. -
Louisiana Purchase Sets Slave Debate
The United States purchases Louisiana from France for $15 million. The large acquisition will set the stage for future debates over slavery in the territories. -
Slave Trade Ban
Congress passes a law prohibiting Americans from participating in the African slave trade. The ban, which goes into effect in 1808, will be inconsistently enforced until 1861. -
Hartford Convention
A group of New England Federalists gathers in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss long-held grievances regarding the power of slaveholders in the federal government. -
New York Emancipation
New York State enacts a law, effective July 4th, 1827, freeing all Blacks who would not have been freed before then by the gradual emancipation act of 1799. -
Missouri Compromise of 1820
The House and Senate are deadlocked over the question of whether to admit Missouri as a slave state. There is some fear of civil war. As a compromise, Congress adopts an amendment that there shall be no restriction on slavery in Missouri, but the institution will be prohibited from Louisiana Territory north of 36º30' latitude. Protests continue as critics seek to refuse Missouri's admission unless the state passes legislation to provide for gradual emancipation -
Denmark Conviction
Denmark Vesey, a free African-American, is convicted for plotting a slave rebellion in South Carolina. He and 35 others are hanged in Charleston. -
South Carolina Arrests Free Blacks
Concerned about plots to overthrow slavery in Charleston, South Carolina authorities arrest and jail free Blacks who enter the state, despite objections from federal courts that say such actions violate the Constitution. Leaders in South Carolina assert that such incarcerations are necessary in order to protect slavery in the state. -
Jackson Election
Democrat Andrew Jackson (a slave owner) is elected president of the United States. He is the seventh president elected; every president thus far, with the exception of John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, has been a slave owner. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
Nat Turner, a Virginia slave, leads the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history; 70 whites are killed in the uprising. In the hunt for Turner, 100 Blacks are killed. -
Jackson Re-elected
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Van Buren Election
Martin Van Buren is elected president of the United States. -
Texas Declares Independence
The Texas Declaration of Independence is enacted, creating the Republic of Texas (otherwise known as the "Lone Star Republic"). The U.S. government refuses to recognize Texas because it does not want to agitate sectional strife; abolitionists oppose Texas's admission to the Union because they know it will become a slave state. But the U.S. does commence secret negotiations with Texas on annexation in 1843. -
Widespread Unemployment
Following months of increasing inflation, an economic panic begins, causing widespread unemployment. -
Harrison Elected
William Henry Harrison wins the presidential election, defeating incumbent Martin Van Buren. The Liberty Party, which campaigns for abolition and Black equality, wins only 7,000 votes. (The Party will fare much better in the next presidential election, winning over nine times as many votes.) -
James Polk Elected
James K. Polk wins the presidency by a margin of just 1.4% of the popular vote; the antislavery Liberty Party wins 65,000 votes in the presidential election. It is hardly close to a popular majority, but it is enough to deprive the Whigs of taking the state of New York, and that determines the election of Democrat James K. Polk instead of the Whig candidate, Henry Clay. -
Potato Famine Immigration
The great potato famine in Ireland forces large numbers of Irish to emigrate. Many seek to begin a new life in the United States. -
U.S. Declares War on Mexico
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Zachary Taylor Elected
Whig Zachary Taylor is elected president of the United States. Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren wins 10% of the vote, splitting the Democratic base and facilitating the election of Taylor, a Mexican-American War hero.8 -
Mexican-American War Ends
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War. California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and the disputed regions of Texas are all obtained by the United States in the largest single land acquisition since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. -
Fugitive Slave Act
As a portion of the Compromise of 1850, a new—and much harsher—Fugitive Slave Act is passed. It strengthens the enforcement of the fugitive slave clause in the Constitution (Art. IV, sec. 2), makes the federal government responsible for the apprehension and return of all escaped slaves, and facilitates the job for slave catchers. The fugitives in question are denied a jury trial. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
During the Illinois senatorial race, Democratic incumbent Stephen A. Douglas and Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln engage in a series of fiery debates. For four months, the two men travel all across the state, speaking before thousands of spectators. They argue primarily about whether, in Lincoln's words, "a house divided against itself cannot stand" and whether slavery ought to be placed "in the course of ultimate extinction"; -
John Brown Trial
John Brown is quickly tried and convicted of conspiracy to incite insurrection and treason against the state of Virginia. At his sentencing, he declares, "Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I say, let it be done. -
Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States, defeating both Democratic candidates, Stephen Douglas and John Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union Party candidate, John Bell. -
South Carolina Secedes
The South Carolina legislature votes to secede from the Union. Now sit back and get comfy. There are going to be a lot of these. -
Mississippi Secedes, Florida Secedes, Alabama Secedes, Georgia Secedes, Louisiana Secedes, Texas Secedes,
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Lincoln Inaugurated
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as president of the United States. -
Confederates Attack
Confederate forces attack Union troops stationed at Fort Sumter off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. -
Gabriel Prosser Plot
Gabriel Prosser conspires to seize Richmond, Virginia with a large force of perhaps 1,000 armed slaves and then proceed with a general slaughter of whites. The plot is uncovered; 25 of the conspirators are executed and ten others deported to the West Indies.