![]() ![]() ![]() 1, 1863, during the second year of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” The “designated States” to which the Proclamation applied were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. had committed to abolition.ġ863: Emancipation Proclamation expands the policy of abolition While about two dozen slaves were still held in those states by the time of the Civil War, by 1817 every state in the northern and western U.S. This law established a government for the Northwest Territory, outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and outlawed slavery in the new territories.ġ817: Gradual emancipation adopted in northern and western U.S.įollowing the Pennsylvania model, many northern states adopted a process of gradual emancipation. The Confederation Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. But in three related court cases from 1781 to 1783, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court applied the principle of judicial review to abolish slavery, stating the laws and customs that sanctioned slavery were incompatible with the new state constitution.ġ787: Slavery is banned in new territories in the northwest When the state adopted its constitution in 1780, slavery was still legal in Massachusetts. Also, while Pennsylvanians could no longer legally import slaves, they could buy and sell those who had been registered after 1780.ġ783: Massachusetts becomes first state to abolish slavery In 1780, the Pennsylvania legislature passed the “ Act for the Gradual Emancipation of Slavery.” The law freed only slaves born after its enactment, and the registered children of slaves would be enslaved until their 28th birthday. Here is a brief timeline of the 86-year period of the abolition of slavery within the continental United States.ġ780: Pennsylvania adopts a gradual abolition of slavery But for some Black Americans, slavery both ended before and after that date. The observance honors Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery which dates back to June 19, 1865. Last weekend, Americans celebrated Juneteenth National Independence Day, our nation’s newest legal public holiday. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |