TIMELINE
- 1783 - The Supreme Court of Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state
- 1787 - Three-fifths compromise: Compromise reached between Northern and Southern states which stated that three-fifths of the enumerated population would be counted for representation purposes
- 1793 - First fugitive slave act: Guaranteed rights to the slaveholder to recapture their slaves if they escaped
- 1800 - Gabriel’s Rebellion: Gabriel Prosser wanted to lead slaves into Richmond, but it was postponed because of rain. Two slaves told their owners about the plans and Gabriel was hunted down after he fled. When he was caught, him and 25 other slaves were hanged
- 1808 - U.S. bans importation of new slaves from Africa: It is inconsistently enforced until 1861
- 1822 - Denmark Vesey’s slave conspiracy: A slave told master about a plot to seize Charleston and kill all the whites. More than one thousand free and enslaved blacks intended to be a part of this uprising which was planned for sometime in July 1822.
- 1829 - State v. Mann: John Mann shot and injured his slave Lydia as punishment when she tried to escape. The Supreme Court of Carolina stated that slave owners had authority over their slaves and could not be charged in court for violence towards their slaves.
- 1831 - Nat Turner’s Rebellion: Rebel slaves, led by Nat Turner, killed 55 to 65 people in Virginia. This was the highest number of fatalities caused by a slave rebellion in the south.
- 1833 - Great Britain abolishes slavery within its empire
- 1838 - Frederick Douglas escapes slavery
- 1839 - Amistad revolt: 53 African natives on a slave ship traveling to Cuba to be sold were freed by one slave named Cinque. They killed most of the crew, including the captain, and forced them to sail the ship back to Africa.
- 1849 - Harriet Tubman escapes slavery
- 1850 - Compromise of 1850: A package of 5 bills that avoided secession or civil war for a short period of time
- 1850 - Second fugitive slave act: Part of the Compromise of 1850; declared that all runaway slaves that were captured were to be returned to their masters.
- 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe writes Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Changed how Americans viewed slavery
- 1857 - Dred Scott decision: U.S. Supreme Court declared that all blacks would not and could not become citizens
- 1861 - Civil War starts