The American Anti-Slavery Society is founded by William Lloyd Garrison and others.
1835
North and South Carolina request that other states control abolition activities.
1836
Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia request that other states control abolition activities.
The U.S. House of Representatives adopts the “gag rule” which automatically tables abolitionist material.
1837
Pennsylvania and Mississippi take away the right of blacks to vote.
1838
The Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.
1839
July 2 – Slaves aboard the ship Amistad rebel killing the captain and cook. After the ship arrives off the coast of Long Island, the slaves seek their freedom in court.
1840
The issue of women’s rights divides the American Anti-Slavery Society. Those who leave the party form the Liberty Party.
1841
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the slaves aboard the Amistad are free.
1844
Slavery is prohibited in Oregon.
Free blacks are denied citizenships in North Carolina.
1845
Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is published.
Texas is admitted to the Union as a slave state.
1847
Frederick Douglass founds the newspaper, The North Star.
1848
Slavery is prohibited in Connecticut.
The Free Soil Party is organized by anti-slavery proponents. Its goal is to prevent slavery from expanding westward.
1850
California is admitted as a free state. As a compromise, the slave states Utah and New Mexico are admitted without restrictions, but the slave trade is banned in D.C.
The second Fugitive Slave Law is passed. It is enforced by the federal government.
1851
In Akron, Ohio at the Women’s Rights Convention, Sojourner Truth delivers her speech “Ain’t I a Woman.”
1852
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, is published.
1854
The Missouri Compromise is repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allows popular sovereignty to determine the status of Kansas and Nebraska.
1857
The Dred Scott decision denies citizenship to all slaves, ex-slaves, and slave descendants.
1858
Kansas is admitted to the Union as a free state.
1859
John Brown leads an unsuccessful raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
1860
Abraham Lincoln is elected president.
1861
South Carolina secedes from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina follow.
Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Union of Confederate States.
Ex-slave Harriet Jacobs’ narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is published.
The Civil War begins.
1863
Slavery is abolished in Utah.
1863
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which frees all slaves in the rebellion area.
The 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry is formed.
Slavery is abolished in Maryland.
1864
The Fugitive Slave Law is repealed.
Slavery is abolished in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri.
1865
Slavery is abolished in all of the states by the 13th Amendment.
Confederate J.E. Johnston surrenders to the Union.
Confederate General Lee surrenders to General Grant in Virginia at the Appomattox Court House.
