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Slavery
Slavery started in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought 20 African Slaves to Jamestown, Virginia. The slaves helped to turn the nation into an economic powerhouse by producing crops. In the 17th and 18th centuries, slaves worked in tobacco, rice and indigo fields on plantations near the southern coast. -
Causes of The Civil War
Many people think the cause of the Civil War was slavery. What they don't know, is that slavery is just a small portion of the causes of the Civil War. Some of these causes include The Dred Scott Decision, State's Rights, The Missouri Compromise, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the seceding of the southern states. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was an abolitionist novel. Abolition was the antislavery movement. More than 300,000 copies were sold the year after it was published. It was very popular amongst whites in the North and showed them what slavery was really like. -
The Civil War
The Civil War was fought between the United States and 11 States from the south that had seceded and formed The Confederate States of America. On April 12, 1861, Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter. The North defeated the South, and the Southern States that had formed the Confederate States were forced to rejoin the Union. -
The Confederate States of America
After only 3 months of Lincoln being elected as president, seven southern states had seceded. These states formed the Confederate States of America. After the The Civil War began, four more states seceded and joined. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation stated "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious area "are, and henceforward shall be free." This changed the goal of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation was very limited as it only applied to the states that had seceded from the Union. It allowed for black men to join the Union Army and Navy. -
Proposal of the 13th Amendment.
In December of 1863 and January of 1864, two bills were introduced to the House and Senate. The two proposals were similar and they worked to combine them into one. -
Ratification
The 13th amendment abolished slavery in The United States. The amendment passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, but did not pass in the House until January 31, 1865. President Lincoln approved on February 1, 1865, but it was December 6, 1865, before the amendment would be ratified by enough states. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were laws that enforced racial segregation. There were Jim Crow laws at both the state and local levels. They called the negro people "separate but equal". Blacks and whites were to use different facilities almost everywhere they went including, school, hotels, and even bathrooms. -
The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act ended segregation in public places. It also banned employment discrimination. It was proposed by President John F. Kennedy, but signed by President Lyndon Johnson.
