Petitions for action by lawmakers

• 1688: Anti-slavery petition divides Quakers

• 1700: Puritans debate: Is slavery Christian?

• 1740-1742: Slave trader's hall hosts abolitionist rallies

• 1746: Lucy Terry Prince: Resilient poet, storyteller

• 1771 Quaker abolitionist educates, inspires others

• 1771: Governor rebuffs proposed ban on slave imports

• 1773-1779: Black freedom petitions: "For the sake of justice, humanity"

• 1779: In New Hampshire, 20 enslaved Africans petition for freedom

• 1780: Black residents help win first abolition law

• 1783: Belinda Sutton: Fights to be paid for 50 years in bondage

• 1784: Black Freemasons spur activism, advance abolitionist cause

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

• 1829: Protests fail to stop expulsion of Native peoples

• 1830: Congress seizes Native lands, triggers slavery expansion

• 1833: Female anti-slavery groups proliferate

• 1833: National anti-slavery group established

• 1834: Mill workers support enslaved cotton pickers

• 1837 Wendell Phillips: Powerful voice for abolition

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

• 1837 Women's anti-slavery efforts transform town

• 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

• 1842: Sarah Parker Remond: Activist for human rights, women's suffrage

• 1843: Abolitionists campaign against segregation, for interracial marriage

• 1845: Texas takeover decried as land grab for slavery

• 1861: African Americans push to serve in military

• 1861 Pro-slavery sentiments roil Massachusetts town

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