People, Locations, Episodes

The ‘Indian Removal Act’ is Signed

On this date in 1830, U. S. legislation leading to the “Trail of Tears” was enacted.

President Andrew Jackson signed into law, “The Indian Removal Act,” a bill that forced the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminole Indian tribes off their land in the southeastern United States. It is estimated that one-third of the members of these tribes involved in this removal and the ensuing trek to Oklahoma were of African descent.

The First National Negro Convention is held

*On this date in 1830, the first National Negro Convention was held. Taking place in Philadelphia, this was a movement to address the hostility, discrimination, exclusion, and violence against blacks by whites in northern cities. In the early months of 1830, a young, freed black man from Baltimore named Hezekiah Grice was not satisfied with […]

Nat Turner Leads An American Slave Rebellion

On this date in 1831, Nat Turner and 70 slaves began a two-day uprising in Southampton County, Virginia.

Turner, a slave preacher, believed that God had chosen him to lead Blacks to freedom. During the rebellion, Turner’s master was killed, along with about 60 other whites. As troops moved in to capture the slaves, Turner escaped and remained at large for two months. While he was a fugitive, it is estimated that around 53 blacks were arrested and tried, 20 were hanged, 21 acquitted, and 12 transported out of Virginia.

The revolt had repercussions throughout the South.

União dos Palmares is Founded

*The city of União dos Palmares was founded on this date in 1831.   Located in the Brazilian state of Alagoas, this city has historical importance to Afro Brazilians. A Mocambo or, more recently, a Quilombo was on a nearby hill. These were centers of Black African slaves fleeing and resisting slavery. Known as the Quilombo dos Palmares, this was the largest and most organized of the many quilombos […]

Nat Turner Confesses to Leading a Slave Uprising

On this date in 1831, Nat Turner confessed to his leadership in the famous uprising in Virginia.

Nathaniel Turner was a Black slave who started the largest slave rebellion in the antebellum southern United States, in Southampton County, VA. The rebellion was controversial partly because of his methodical slaughter of white civilians during the uprising. In the slave uprising he orchestrated, 55 whites were killed.

Turner gave in detail the hows and whys of his actions of August 21, 1831 two months later, on this date.

Nat Turner is Hanged

On this date in 1831, Nat Turner was hanged in Jerusalem, Virginia. Turner, a slave and educated minister, believed that he was chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. On August 21, 1831, he initiated his slave uprising by slaughtering Joseph Travis, his slave owner, and Travis’ family.

With seven followers, he set off across the countryside, hoping to rally hundreds of slaves to join his insurrection. Turner’s rebellion was the largest slave revolt in U.S. history and led to a new wave of oppressive legislation prohibiting the movement, assembly, and education of slaves.

America’s ‘Black Codes,’ a definition

*On this date in 1832, we acknowledge Black Codes in the United States.  Sometimes called Black Laws, Black Codes were (are) laws governing the conduct of Black people during slavery and after emancipation. Southern states passed the best example in 1865 and 1866 after the American Civil War to restrict African Americans’ freedom and require them to work for low wages. […]

The Treaty of Payne’s Landing is Signed

*The Treaty of Payne’s Landing was signed on this date in 1832.  This agreement was between the United States and several chiefs of the Seminole Indian tribe in the Territory of Florida before it acquired statehood. By the Treaty of Moultrie Creek in 1823, the Seminoles had relinquished all claims to land in the Florida […]

The Baptist War Occurs

*The Baptist War began on this date in 1832. Also known as the Christmas Rebellion, it was an eleven-day rebellion that started on Christmas Day 1831 in Jamaica. The missionary-educated rebels had been following the progress of the abolitionist movement in London; they intended to call for a peaceful general strike. The relative independence of […]

The Melrose Plantation is Built

*Melrose Plantation is celebrated on this date in 1832. Also known as Yucca Plantation, the “Big House” is a plantation in the unincorporated community of Melrose in Natchitoches Parish in north central Louisiana. This is one of the largest plantations in the United States, built by and for free blacks. The plantation land was granted to Louis […]

The Anti-Slavery Society Holds Their First Meeting

On this date in 1833, the American Anti-slavery Society met for the first time. They were 60 abolitionist leaders gathering to end slavery in the United States of America.

They were from 19 states, and met in Philadelphia to create a national organization to bring about immediate emancipation of all slaves. The society elected officers and adopted a constitution and a declaration, drafted by William Lloyd Garrison, which pledged its members to work for emancipation through non-violent actions of “moral suasion,” or “the overthrow of prejudice by the power of love.”

The ‘Farren Riot’ in New York City Occurs

*This date, in 1834, marks the start of the Farren Riot. In New York City, it’s also called the anti-abolitionist or Tappan Riot. This was an ant-abolitionist riot that lasted for nearly a week. Their deeper origins rest in nativism and abolitionism among Protestants who had controlled the growing city since the American Revolutionary War and […]

The British Empire Abolishes Slavery

On this date in 1834, the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act passed in 1833 and became law and slavery became illegal in the United Kingdom.

Slavery was an important component of the economies of both Britain and the United States. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, Britain was responsible for the transportation of 3.5 million African slaves to the Americas, a third of all slaves transported across the Atlantic. The 1807 law did not stop the British slave trade, however. An act making not just the slave trade but slavery itself illegal was passed in 1838.

The Malê Revolt in Brazil Occurs

*On this date in 1835, The Malê Revolt occurred.   Also known as The Great Revolt) it was a Black Muslim slave rebellion in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. During the last days of Ramadan that year, in the city of Salvador da Bahia, a group of Black Muslim slaves and freedmen, inspired by Muslim teachers, rose against the government. Muslims were called malê in Bahia at this time, from Yoruba imale that designated […]

The Nathan Thomas House, (Michigan) Opens

*The opening of the Nathan Thomas House is celebrated on this date in 1835.  This was the location of one of Michigan’s most active Underground Railroad stations.  Dr. Nathan M. and Pamela Brown Thomas created the refuge.  Built-in 1835, he constructed a building that served as both an office and residence. Five years later, he […]