The Piano Lesson Timeline and Related Events By johnpauls16925 Mar 6, 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford Period: Apr 11, 1861 to May 9, 1865 American Civil War Jan 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation Period: Jan 1, 1863 to Mar 31, 1877 Reconstruction Era Addition of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution May 18, 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Period: Jan 1, 1900 to Jan 1, 1990 Timeline of the settings of Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle" Jan 1, 1910 General Start of the Great Migration Mass migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West. Ended around 1970 Jan 1, 1936 Setting of "The Piano Lesson" Apr 27, 1945 Birth of August Wilson May 17, 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Jul 2, 1964 Civil Rights Act of 1964 Nov 26, 1987 Premiere of "The Piano Lesson" Oct 2, 2005 Death of August Wilson