Women leaders, activists, heroines

• 1670 First African American to own land in Boston

• 1723: Arson: Weapon of retaliation, resistance

• 1776: Activist Black community forms in Boston

• 1814: Cotton enriches businessmen, North and South

• 1816: Unsung heroines play key movement roles

• 1827: Boycott of goods made by enslaved labor grows

• 1830: Black groups expand free produce movement

• 1832: Black women form female anti-slavery society

• 1832: Maria W. Stewart: Militant abolitionist, women's rights champion

• 1832: Chloe Spear: A story of 30 years in bondage

• 1833: Attacks force closure of school for girls of color

• 1833: Female anti-slavery groups proliferate

• 1833: Abolition group is rare for being racially integrated

• 1833: Lydia Maria Child: Abolitionist and rights advocate

• 1834: Mill workers support enslaved cotton pickers

• 1835: Abolitionist women run gauntlet of Boston mob

• 1836: Abolitionist women gain freedom for enslaved girl

• 1836 Black women free two who fled bondage

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

• 1837 Women's anti-slavery efforts transform town

• 1838: Mob torches hall after attacking abolitionists

• 1838: Frederick Douglass escapes, reaches freedom

• 1838: Abolitionists demand Congress restore free debate on slavery

• 1839: New book spurs outrage at "slave breeding"

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

• 1839-1858: Gift book sales fund anti-slavery work

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

• 1845: Frances Ellen Watkins: Poet, anti-slavery activist

• 1847: The Crafts: Tireless speakers against slavery after daring escape

• 1849: Harriet Tubman: "Moses" is also top Union spy

• 1850: Nancy Gardner Prince publishes autobiography

• 1850-1860: Underground Railroad helps thousands secure freedom

• 1851: Sojourner Truth: Activist for abolition, women's rights, prison reform

• 1852: Uncle Tom's Cabin is praised, vilified

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

• 1862 Ida B. Wells: Exposes lynching horrors with the "light of truth"

• 1862: Sculptor honors abolitionists, feminists

• 1865: Refugees in Canada start coming home