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First slaves sold in North America
In Jamestown Virginia, twenty people kidnapped from West Africa were sold into slavery. -
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Timeline of the Underground Railroad
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Vermont abolishes slavery
The colony of Vermont was the first in North America to outlaw slavery. -
Isaac T. Hopper helps escaped slaves
Philadelphia abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper begins establishing the Underground Railroad, a network of anti-slavery activists, to help slaves escape to freedom. -
US bans the slave trade
African slaves continue to be smuggled into the country, but the slave trade is officially banned in the United States. -
Route established from North Carolina to Indiana
The first long-distance route for escaped slaves is established by abolitionists including Levi Coffin of North Carolina. -
Quakers in Indiana create secret rooms
Indiana Quakers actively hid and transported slaves to help them escape. Dennis Pennington fought efforts to make Indiana a pro-slavery state. -
William Lloyd Garrison founds abolitionist newspaper, the Liberator, in Boston.
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Kentucky slave Tice Davids flees to Ohio
Tice Davids swam across the treacherous Ohio River to escape from slavery. -
New York City Underground Railroad created
David Ruggles, a free black man, creates a network in the city that helped more than 6,000 slaves, including Frederick Douglass, escape slavery. Ruggles was assisted by Isaac Hopper. -
Nat Turner's rebellion
Nat Turner, a slave, led a rebellion in Southampton, Virginia that claimed the lives of at least 55 whites and triggered a wave of reprisals against blacks that killed at least 120. Turner was captured and hanged. -
American Anti-Slavery Society founded
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Dawn Settlement founded
Josiah Henson establishes a settlement in Dawn, British Upper Canada, to take in former slaves to teach them skills and help adapt to life in freedom. -
Caroline Quarlls escapes
16-year-old slave Caroline Quarlls crosses the Mississippi River to escape bondage in the free state of Illiniois on Independence Day. -
Thomas Garrett acquitted
Underground Railroad activist Thomas Garrett was tried and acquitted for helping slaves escape. -
Ellen and William Craft escape
Ellen Craft pretended to be a white master and her husband William pretended to be a slave. Together, they escaped to the North and became active abolitionists. -
Henry "Box" Brown escapes
Henry Brown made a dangerous escape North by traveling in a coffin-like box. -
Harriet Tubman escapes
Harriet Tubman escaped once with her brothers, only to return with them and escape again on her own. -
Fugitive Slave Act passed
The law meant a crackdown on slaves who had made it to the North. -
Civil War begins
The attack on Fort Sumter marked the outbreak of Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation issued
Abraham Lincoln issued the freeing of all slaves in an executive order January 1, 1863. Congress passed it January 31, 1865.
