Within several decades of being brought to the American colonies, Africans were stripped of human rights and enslaved as chattel, an enslavement that lasted more than two centuries. Slavers whipped slaves who displeased them. Clergy preached that slavery was the will of God. Scientists "proved" that blacks were less evolved-a subspecies of the human race. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 solidified the importance of slavery to the South's economy. By the mid-19th century, America's westward expansion, along with a growing anti-slavery movement in the North, provoked a national debate over slavery that helped precipitate the American Civil War (1861-65). Though the Union victory freed the nation's four million slaves, the legacy of slavery influenced American history, from the chaotic years of Reconstruction (1865-77) to the civil rights movement that emerged in the 1950s. Show
1619 August"Twenty and odd" Africans, probably seized from a Portuguese slave ship, were carried to Jamestown, Virginia, and traded for provisions. They were classified as indentured servants. 1640 July 9 1641 1662 1676 1688 February 18 1705 1712 April 1770 March 5Crispus Attucks, an ex-slave, became an early casualty of the American Revolution when he was shot and killed in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Although Attucks was credited as the leader of the event, debate raged for over a century as to whether he was a patriotic hero or a trouble-making villain. 1775 April 14 1775 December 30 1776 July 4 1793 February 12Congress passed the first fugitive slave act, making it a crime to harbor an escaped slave or to interfere with the arrest of a slave. 1800 August 30 1808 January 1 1816 April 9 1816 December 28 1820 March 3 1831 August 21-22 1839 1850 1852 March 20The anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was published and, by year's end, 300,000 copies were sold in the United States. "Tom shows," dramatizations based on the plot of the novel, were widely performed by traveling companies into the 20th century, spreading common stereotypes of African Americans. 1854 1857 March 6In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the United States Supreme Court ruled that blacks were not citizens of the United States and denied Congress the ability to prohibit slavery in any federal territory. 1860-1861
1863 July 18The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry led a heroic attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. The 54th was the first all-black regiment recruited in the North for the Union army. As many as 185,000 black soldiers fought on the side of the Union. 1865
December 6 Why did some blacks fight on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War?In the American Revolution, gaining freedom was the strongest motive for Black enslaved people who joined the Patriot or British armies. It is estimated that 20,000 African Americans joined the British cause, which promised freedom to enslaved people, as Black Loyalists.
Why did the Black Loyalists fight for the British?During the American Revolutionary War (1775–83), thousands of free or enslaved Black people fought for the British, hoping to gain their freedom along with the promise of land.
What role did blacks play during the Revolution?Most Black soldiers were scattered throughout the Continental Army in integrated infantry regiments, where they were often assigned to support roles as wagoners, cooks, waiters or artisans. Several all-Black units, commanded by white officers, also were formed and saw action against the British.
How did many slaves gain their freedom during the American Revolution?Several thousand slaves won their freedom by serving on both sides of the War of Independence. As a result of the Revolution, a surprising number of slaves were manumitted, while thousands of others freed themselves by running away. In Georgia alone, 5000 slaves, a third of the colony's prewar total, escaped.
|