Territorial expansion

• 1492: Columbus leads the way: Enslavement, slaughter, and land theft

• 1526: First Africans likely brought as slaves to North America revolt

• 1579: Africans win freedom in first mass uprising

• 1607: Colonists make war to "christianize" Native people

• 1619: First enslaved Africans brought to Virginia

• 1622: Powhatan kills settlers to stop theft of tribal lands

• 1676: Rebellion spurs imports of enslaved Africans

• 1676: Executions portend broad assault on Indigenous peoples

• 1787: Flawed ordinance bans slavery, ignites land grab

• 1823: Supreme Court legitimizes theft of Native lands

• 1829: Protests fail to stop expulsion of Native peoples

• 1830: Congress seizes Native lands, triggers slavery expansion

• 1833 Domestic slave trade: over one million sent south

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

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

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

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

• 1845: Texas takeover decried as land grab for slavery

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

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

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

• 1854: New law fans flames of division over slavery

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

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