1800 Archives

William Whipper. Published in The Underground Railroad by William Still, Philadelphia, 1879.

Sept. 16, 1837: Abolitionist William Whipper Advocated Non-Violence

William Whipper published “An Address on Non-Resistance to Offensive Aggression.”

An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World manuscript cover.

Sept. 28, 1829: An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World

David Walker published An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, one of the most important documents of the 19th century.

Nov. 7, 1837: Elijah Parish Lovejoy Murdered

Minister, journalist, newspaper editor, and abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered by a pro-slavery mob.

May 19, 1856: Charles Sumner Crime Against Kansas Speech

Charles Sumner delivered a speech denouncing slavery and the need for Kansas to become a free state.

White House Black History | Zinn Education Project

Missing from Presidents’ Day: The People They Enslaved

By Clarence Lusane

Schools across the country are adorned with posters of the U.S. presidents and the years they served in office. U.S. history textbooks describe the accomplishments and challenges of the major presidential administrations — George Washington had the Revolutionary War, Abraham Lincoln the Civil War, Teddy Roosevelt the Spanish-American War, and so on. Children’s books put students on a first-name basis with the presidents, engaging readers with stories of their dogs in the Rose Garden or childhood escapades. Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution welcomes visitors to an exhibit of the first ladies’ gowns and White House furnishings.

Nowhere in all this information is there any mention of the fact that more than one in four U.S. presidents were involved in human trafficking and slavery.

Who Fought to End Slavery? Meet the Abolitionists

Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez, Brady Bennon, Deb Delman, and Jessica Lovaas.
This mixer role play introduces students to the stories of famous and lesser-known abolitionists, through biography and investigation.

Freedom's Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 16, 1827.

March 16, 1827: Freedom’s Journal Established

Freedom’s Journal was the first African American owned and operated newspaper in the United States.

Jan. 6, 1811: Charles Sumner is Born

Born on this day in Massachusetts, Charles Sumner was outspoken against slavery, for full recognition of Haiti, against the U.S.-Mexico War, for true reconstruction with land distribution, against school segregation, and much more.

April 11, 1835: Thaddeus Stevens Gives Speech in Defense of Free Schools Act

Thaddeus Stevens gave a speech in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in defense of the Free Schools Act of 1834, which moved the state House to vote against repeal and the Senate to take another vote in support of free public schools.

Oct. 17, 1837: Petition to Repeal Black Codes in Ohio

The first general convention of African American Ohioans met in Columbus and pledged to continue raising their voices in order to repeal the Black Codes.

Nov. 15, 1842: Slave Revolt at Webbers Falls

The Slave Revolt of 1842 — when dozens of enslaved Black people in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma fought back and briefly escaped from their Cherokee overseers — was the largest rebellion of enslaved people in Indian Territory history.

The Counter Revolution of 1836: Texas Slavery & Jim Crow and the Roots of American Fascism

Book — Non-fiction. By Gerald Horne. 2022. 632 pages.
A detailed history of counterrevolutionary forces in Texas state history.

South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War

Book — Non-fiction. By Alice L. Baumgartner. 2020. 384 pages.
The story of why Mexico abolished slavery and how its increasingly radical antislavery policies fueled the sectional crisis in the United States.

late April 1821: U.S. Attack on Maroon Community at Angola

After becoming governor of Florida in 1821, Andrew Jackson attacked the native and Black maroon community at Angola.

a scene depicting the battle between the enslaved and their overseers during the Demerara Uprising in Guyana

Aug. 18, 1823: The Demerara Uprising

This was the largest uprising of the enslaved against their British overseers in Guyana. The uprising was ended after a few days, though it served as a catalyst for the abolition of slavery in British colonies soon thereafter.

Gabriel Flores' ceiling mural at the Castillo de Chapultepec depicts Juan Escutia leaping from the castle walls to his death, wrapped in the Mexican flag in order to prevent the flag from falling into enemy (U.S.) hands.

Sept. 13, 1847: Los Niños Héroes of the U.S. Mexico War

The Niños Héroes (translated as Boy Heroes or Heroic Cadets) were six military cadets killed in the Battle of Chapultepec, one of the last battles of the U.S. Mexico War.

The Constitution of the Maine Anti-Slavery Society, which was founded in May 1833.

Oct. 15, 1834: First Maine Anti-Slavery Society Convention

The first Maine Anti-Slavery Society Convention was held in Augusta.

Sketch of people debating at the Colored Convention in Washington D.C.

Oct. 6, 1841: Maine’s First Colored Convention

The first Colored Convention in Maine was an opportunity for northern Black abolitionists to organize and strategize for racial justice and the freedom of those still enslaved throughout the South.

Sept. 29, 1841: Frederick Douglass Protests Segregated Travel

In protest of Jim Crow discrimination on public transportation, Frederick Douglass and his friend, white politician James N. Buffum, boarded a Eastern Railroad Company train, in a first class car and were promptly ejected from the train.

May 4, 1884: Ida B. Wells Protests Segregated Seating on Train

Ida B. Wells stood up to injustice by refusing to change seats on a segregated Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad train, leading to a legal battle over racially discriminatory laws.

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