Slavery and Resistance Archives

Aug. 20, 1619: Africans in Virginia

On or about Aug. 20, 1619, the documented arrival of Africans—stolen from their homelands and brought to British North America—occurred at Point Comfort.

March 9, 1865: The Lowry Band Help Guide General Sherman on His March to End the Civil War

The Lowry Band helped guide General Sherman on his march to end the Civil War.

Jan. 15, 1817: The Vote on Colonization of Free Blacks in West Africa

Nearly 3,000 African American men met at the Bethel A.M.E. Church and denounced the American Colonization Society’s proposal to resettle free African Americans in West Africa.

Jan. 8, 1811: Louisiana’s Heroic Slave Revolt

The German Coast Uprising was a strategic military assault against white supremacy by hundreds of enslaved Africans.

The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law Convention, Cazenovia, New York. The Edmonson sisters are standing wearing bonnets and shawls in the row behind the seated speakers. Frederick Douglass is seated, with Gerritt Smith standing behind him, and with Abby Kelley Foster the likely person seated on Douglass's left.

April 15, 1848: The Escape on the Pearl Schooner

Seventy-seven enslaved people attempted to flee Washington, D.C. by sailing away on a schooner called The Pearl.

Crosswhite (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 27, 1847: Crosswhites Escaped to Canada

Several hundred citizens of Marshall, Michigan, helped Adam and Sarah Crosswhite escape slavery and kidnapping and flee to Canada.

Jan. 1, 1863: Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863. Who did it “emancipate”? And who gets credited?

July 2, 1777: Vermont Officially Abolished Slavery

Vermont officially abolished slavery in its constitution.

Remember Your Weekly Pledge, collection box for Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Circa 1850.

Jan. 6, 1832: New England Anti-Slavery Society Founded

The New England Anti-Slavery Society was founded at the African Meeting House in Boston.

The Confederate Constitute | Zinn Education Project

March 11, 1861: Confederate Constitution Adopted

The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was adopted a month before the Civil War started.

The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition

Book — Non-fiction. By Manisha Sinha. 2017. 784 pages.
A groundbreaking history of abolition that recovers the largely forgotten role of African Americans in the long march toward emancipation from the American Revolution through the Civil War.

Charles Sumner

Profile. Charles Sumner, Civil War and Reconstruction era politician in the United States.

Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery

Digital collection. This website publishes thousands of “Information Wanted” advertisements taken out by people freed from slavery who are searching for family members who had been sold apart.

Dec. 23, 1815: Henry Highland Garnet Born

Henry Highland Garnet, abolitionist and minister, called for a militant slave revolt.

Aug. 30, 1843: Liberty Party Convention

The Liberty Party held its second convention.

Sept. 22, 1862: Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

The Journey of Little Charlie

Book — Fiction. By Christopher Paul Curtis. 2018. 256 pages.
A novel for young adults that that shows how slavery was state-sanctioned terrorism and the impact of the Fugitive Slave Law.

Dec. 9, 1864: Ebenezer Creek Massacre

People who had escaped from slavery and were following the Union Army, were blocked from crossing the Ebenezer Creek, leading to their death.

Thirteenth Amendment | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 18, 1865: Ratification of 13th Amendment

Secretary of State William H. Seward declared the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution to have been adopted.

Before She Was Harriet

Picture book. By Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome. 2017. 32 pages.
An illustrated biography of Harriet Tubman written in verse.

Dec. 1850: Harriet Tubman Engineered First Rescue Mission

Abolitionist and suffragist Harriet Tubman, perhaps the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, engineered her first rescue mission in December 1850.

Dec 31, 1862: Watch Meetings for Emancipation Proclamation

African Americans across the United States, free and enslaved, in the North and South, held watch meetings for the abolition of slavery.

Feb. 5, 1866: Thaddeus Stevens Proposes Land Distribution Amendment

Congressman Thaddeus Stevens offered an amendment to the Freedmen's Bureau Bill to authorize the distribution of public land.

Freedmen's Bureau | Zinn Education Project

March 3, 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau Established

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established within the War Department to undertake the relief effort and social reconstruction after the Civil War.

Jan. 30, 1884: Couple Reunited During Reconstruction

During the Reconstruction Era, people emancipated from slavery searched for their loved ones throughout the United States and Canada. They often used "last seen" ads. This is one case of successful reunification.

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