Legislative action

• 1652: Rhode Island slavery ban is not enforced

• 1771: Quaker abolitionist educates, inspires others

• 1771: Governor rebuffs proposed ban on slave imports

• 1777: Vermont abolishes slavery; ban largely ignored

• 1779: Pompey Brakkee: Wins compensation from Vermont enslaver

• 1780: Black residents help win first abolition law

• 1781: New Hampshire bans slavery, but full rights denied

• 1784: Suicides as protest revive abolitionist group

• 1784: Rhode Island, Connecticut embrace gradual abolition

• 1788: Massachusetts bans slave trades, expels "outsiders"

• 1793: New law requires return of fugitives from slavery

• 1794: Slave trade law fails to curb trafficking

• 1807: Slave trade banned after campaign by activists

• 1807: Smugglers deft slave import ban

• 1829: Protests fail to stop expulsion of Native peoples

• 1833: National anti-slavery group established

• 1833: Britain frees 800,000, compensates enslavers

• 1834: Mill workers support enslaved cotton pickers

• 1837 Wendell Phillips: Powerful voice for abolition

• 1837: Planter's daughters campaign for abolition, women's rights

• 1838: 4,000 Cherokees perish on "Trail of Tears"

• 1838: Abolitionists demand Congress restore free debate on slavery

• 1842: Campaign prevents escapee's return to bondage

• 1843: Abolitionists campaign against segregation, for interracial marriage

• 1845: Texas takeover decried as land grab for slavery

• 1850: Harsher Fugitive Slave Act is part of political deal

• 1850: Martin Delany: Abolitionist leader, champions Black self-reliance

• 1854: Wisconsin activists help escapees, challenge Fugitive Slave Act

• 1854: New law fans flames of division over slavery

• 1854: Families move to Kansas to help make it a free state

• 1855: Pro-slavery men invade Kansas, steal election

• 1855: Personal liberty laws protect escapees

• 1855: Black abolitionists help ban segregated schools

• 1856: Anti-slavery champion beaten on Senate floor

• 1856: White supremacists ravage anti-slavery bastion

• 1860: Ballot loss shows White hostility to voting rights

• 1861 Pro-slavery sentiments roil Massachusetts town

• 1861: African Americans push to serve in military

• 1861: Enslaved people declared "contraband of war"

• 1862 Congress frees all enslaved people in Washington, D.C.

• 1862: Robert Smalls: Sails Confederate ship to freedom

• 1862 Republicans build on military wins to pass progressive laws

• 1862: U.S. hangs 38 Dakota for alleged war crimes

• 1863: Abraham Galloway: Militant activist, Union spy, civil rights leader

• 1866: Wisconsin activists win voting rights campaign

• 1866: Racism robs African Americans of land reform benefits