First black slaves imported into what will become the continental United States. (NB. Slaves were already imported earlier into Caribbean and South American countries.)
Includes two important (indirect) references to slavery in the United StatesArticle I, Section 9, Clause 1: "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person."
Article I, Section 2, Clause 3: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. [emphasis added]" (NB. Later superceded by the 14th Amendment)
New Englander Eli Whitney builds a machine that is capable of "combing" certain strains of cotton that had previously been difficult to clean. This enables the South to increase its production of cotton to meet the demands of textile mills in Great Britain. It also ensures the institutionalization of slavery as the basis of the South's economy. By 1850 2/3s of all slaves in the South were engaged in the production of cotton, and 40% of the total population of the South was slave.
As per the Constitution (see above: I.9.1)
U.S. Congress admits Missouri into the Union as a "slave" state, balanced by the admission of Maine as a "free" state. The Congress also divides the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase at the parallel of 36 degrees, 30 minutes. Above that line the territory will be free, while slavery will be allowed below it.
Provided for the territorial organization of Kansas and Nebraska under the principle of popular sovereignty, i.e.,allowing the citizens of the territory to determine whether they would be "slave" or "free" states. Although intended to diffuse the controversy over the extension of slavery into the territories, the Kansas-Nebraska Act actually led to more problems, notably violent clashes in the Kansas territory between pro- and anti-slavery factions (commonly referred to as "Bleeding or Bloody Kansas"). The passage of this act was also a decisive factor in the establishment of the Republican Party.
A decision by the United States Supreme Court that effectively legalized slavery in the territories and thereby overturned the "Missouri Compromise." The case concerned a black slave who was taken by his master into a "free" territory and then back into a "slave" state. The slave, Dred Scott, sued for his freedom, but the court held that he was property and therefore had no standing to sue. The court also declared that property rights were guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, and neither Congress nor a territorial legislature could deprive a citizen of property without due process of law.
Secession of the southern slave-holding states to form a Confederate States of America led to war with the northern states. War ends with the defeat of the Confederacy and the end of slavery in the United States.1863: Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln is often asserted as the "end" of slavery, but was actually more of a political maneuver to appease the more rabid northern abolitionists. Technically, the proclamation "freed" slaves only in the states "in rebellion" against the U.S. government, was therefore unenforceable, and had no real effect on slavery in the South.
Congress passes the amendment that officially ends legal slavery in the United States and also gives itself the power to enforce that law.The entire amendment reads: "Section 1--Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2--Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
This amendment explicitly defined United States citizenship (something not found in the original body of the Constitution), and it also ends the "3/5s" rule for the counting of slaves in the census.The relevant portions of the amendment read: "Section 1--All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2--Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed...."
This amendment explicitly extends the right to vote to any person of color regardless of their former status as a slave. Note again that the Congress has the power to enforce this law.The entire amendment reads: "Section 1--The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2--The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
Decision by the United States Supreme Court that upheld the doctrine of "separate but equal.""Jim Crow" laws enacted by southern legislatures after Reconstruction required Blacks travelling in public vehicles (in Plessy it involved a train) to ride separately from whites, generally in less comfortable conditions. These laws separating the races were eventually extended to include buses & all public vehicles, restaurants & hotels, public toilets & water fountains, schools, theaters, and even such matters as doorways & cemetaries.
Overturned "Plessy v. Ferguson" and thereby eliminated the "separate but equal" doctrine that had allowed legal segregation throughout the South (and other places in the U.S.).In short, the Supreme Court under Earl Warren ruled that the Plessy doctrine was "inherently unequal," specifically in regard to education. Interpretations of the ruling assumed, however, that segregation in other public facilities was also illegal.
Eliminated "poll taxes" and other devices used to deny blacks their right to vote in the SouthThe Amendment reads: "Section 1--The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. Section 2--The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
A comprehensive U.S. law passed by the Congress to enforce provisions of the Constitution and its Amendments, especially in the South. In short, the Act made it explicitly illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin.It guaranteed voting rights by removing registration requirements and procedures biased against minorities and the underprivileged. It prohibited segregation or discrimination in public accommodations (involving interstate commerce). It banned discrimination by unions and virtually anyone involved in interstate commerce or doing business with the federal government. It established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce these provisions. The act also called for the desegregation of public schools, broadened the duties of the Civil Rights Commission, and assured nondiscrimination in the distribution of funds under federally assisted programs.
1965: Voting Rights Act was the final piece of legislation to eliminate various mechanisms by which Southern states sought to deny black citizens the right to vote.