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The start of slave trading
The first African slaves arrive in Virginia -
The cotton gin
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the demand for slaves -
Slave Revolt
Gabriel Posser, an enslaved African American blacksmith, organizes a slave revolt intending to march on Richmond, Virginia. The conspiracy is uncovered, and Posser and a number of the rebels are hanged, Virginia's slave laws are consequently tightened. -
The Rebellion
Nat Turner, an enslaved African American preacher leads the most significant slave uprising in American history. He and his band of followers launch a short, bloody, rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. The militia quells the rebellion, and Turner is eventually hanged. As a consequence. Virginia institutes much stricter slave laws. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, establishing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The legislation repeals the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and renews tensions between anti- and proslavery factions. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
Declaring " that all persons held as slaves" within the Confederate state "are, and forever shall be free." -
The Thirteenth Amendment
After the civil war, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and the thirteenth amendment abolished slavery.