1500's-1750
Slaves Arrive In America
Most black Americans trace their original roots to an area in western Africa.
During the early 1500's, black slaves from western Africa were brought to European colonies in the Americas.
From the 1500's to the mid-1800's, Europeans shipped about 12 million black slaves from Africa to the Western Hemisphere.
The first black African slaves in America arrived during the early 1600's, when slavery based on race became a way of life in all 13 colonies (settlements in America that were founded by Great Britain).
Virginia made slavery legal in colonial America in 1661. By 1750, about 200,000 slaves lived in the colonies.
1800-1865
A Movement to End Slavery
Harriet Tubman was the most famous leader of the "Underground Railroad."
By the early 1800's, most Northern states had taken steps to end, or abolish, slavery. During the mid-1800s, abolitionists began to enter politics and use their homes to help black slaves escape the South to enjoy freedom in the North.
This was called the "Underground Railroad" even though it wasn't underground and didn't involve any trains.
Hiding places were known as "stations" and people who helped were called "conductors."
Harriet Tubman, a runaway slave herself, was one of the most famous conductors, helping about 300 blacks escape to freedom.
Abolitionists won their biggest victory when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
This famous proclamation declared the slaves free in many parts of the South. In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery entirely.
1865-1872
ROAD TO FREEDOM
To help the slaves freed by the 13th Amendment, Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865 to help former slaves resettle into life.
Despite its accomplishments, the Freedmen's Bureau did not solve the serious economic problems of black Americans. Most continued to live in poverty.
They also suffered from racist threats and laws limiting their freedom and civil rights.
In 1865 and 1866, many Southern state governments passed laws that became known as the black codes.
Some of these codes did not allow black people to own land.
Others established a nightly curfew and some allowed states to jail black individuals for not having a job.
The black codes shocked a powerful group of northern congressmen called the Radical Republicans. They worked hard to pass the 14th Amendment, which gave citizenship to black Americans.
It also guaranteed that all federal and state laws would apply equally to everyone, regardless of color.
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