Politics of Slavery and Abolition

• 1777: Vermont abolishes slavery; ban largely ignored 

• 1787: Pact boosts power of slave states 

• 1787: Flawed ordinance bans slavery, ignites land grab 

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

• 1789: Enslavers are majority in first U.S. Congress 

• 1793: Province limits slave trade, moves to end slavery 

• 1807: Smugglers defy slave import ban 

• 1810: David Ruggles: Marshals support for freedom seekers 

• 1812-1815: Escapees from slavery help British forces defeat U.S. 

• 1816: Revolts advance abolition cause in British empire 

• 1820: Maine slave trader first to be executed 

• 1829: Protests fail to stop expulsion of Native peoples 

• 1829-1830: Pro-slavery mobs devastate Black Ohio communities 

• 1830: Congress seizes Native lands, triggers slavery expansion 

• 1831: Flagship anti-slavery paper is launched 

• 1833: Emiliano Mundrucu: Challenges racism in court 

• 1833: Female anti-slavery groups proliferate 

• 1833: Lydia Maria Child: Abolitionist and rights advocate 

• 1833: Britain frees 800,000, compensates enslavers 

• 1834: Mill workers support enslaved cotton pickers 

• 1834-1837: Anti-abolition and racist violence surges 

• 1835: Planter pays to send freed workers to new colony 

• 1835: Activists foil kidnappers, help fugitives to freedom 

• 1835: Seminoles resist U.S. efforts to take their lands 

• 1835-1836: Colonists win Texas independence, protect right to enslave 

• 1838: Four thousand Cherokees perish on "Trail of Tears" 

• 1838: Abolitionists demand Congress restore free debate on slavery 

• 1839-1841: Revolts cast spotlight on illegal slave trade 

• 1839: Women's role is key issue in anti-slavery society split 

• 1840: Liberty Party aims to advance abolition through ballot box 

• 1842: Campaign prevents escapee's return to bondage 

• 1845: Texas takeover decried as land grab for slavery 

• 1846: Congress allows slavery in future U.S. lands 

• 1846: After defeat, Mexico cedes 55% of its land to U.S. 

• 1847: Liberia: Colony becomes independent nation 

• 1848: Failed escape shows capital's role in slave trade

• 1848: New party pledges not to expand slavery 

• 1849: Mexico: Freedom for escapees at a price 

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

• 1853: Racist screeds promote "White Supremacy" 

• 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: New party backs armed resistance to slavery 

• 1855: Personal liberty laws protect escapees 

• 1856: Anti-slavery champion beaten on Senate floor 

• 1856: White supremacists ravage anti-slavery bastion 

• 1857: Supreme Court: Black Americans have no rights 

• 1858: Plan hatched for guerrilla war against slavery 

• 1860: Last known slave ship carries over 100 captive Africans 

• 1860: Ballot loss shows White hostility to voting rights 

• 1860: Abolitionist plot rumors spark deadly rampage 

• 1860: Wide Awake: The movement that helps Lincoln win 

• 1860: Lincoln victory hailed as historic turning point 

• 1860: South Carolina is first to secede from the Union 

• 1860: Boston mob disrupts meeting to honor John Brown 

• 1861: Pro-slavery sentiments roil Massachusetts town 

• 1861: Six more states quit the Union; four others follow 

• 1861: With war, enslavers seek to protect investments 

• 1861: Blockade designed to strangle Southern economy 

• 1861: African Americans push to serve in military 

• 1861: Bloody clashes in Baltimore as Civil War starts 

• 1861: Enslaved people declared "contraband of war" 

• 1861: Freedom order revoked to keep states in Union 

• 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: Lincoln to Black leaders: "Your people should live elsewhere" 

• 1862: Clergymen push for freedom edict 

• 1862: Lincoln declares freedom for all 

• 1863: Lincoln issues Final Emancipation Proclamation 

• 1863: Volunteers of color rush to join Union military

• 1863: Tour raises funds for freedmen schools  

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

• 1863: Anti-Black racism fuels deadly draft riots 

• 1864: U.S. soldiers kill, rape Native people promised asylum 

• 1865: Refugees in Canada start coming home 

• 1865-1866: Black Codes: Slavery by another name 

• 1866: Racism robs African Americans of land reform benefits