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Slaves arrive in the Americas
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Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco. Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation. -
Slave trade abolished
On March 3, 1807, President Thomas Jefferson signed into act a bill approved by Congress the day before “to prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States.” Three weeks later, on the 25th, the British House of Lords passed an Act for the Abolition of The Slave Trade. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was designed to eliminate slavery within the land acquired as a result of the Mexican War 1846 to 1848. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin published
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War" -
Dred Scott v. Sanford Supreme Court Case
n Dred Scott v. Sandford, argued 1856 that the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court.
