SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE LIFE OF SOLOMON NORTHUP
SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE LIFE OF SOLOMON NORTHUP
1619 Dutch traders bring 20 African slaves to the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. Spanish settlers had been capturing and importing slaves from Africa to the Americas, including the present-day United States, since the early 1500s. These early slaves were treated like indentured servants and freed after a set period of servitude.
1640 A runaway black servant named John Punch is sentenced to a lifetime of enslavement, becoming one of the first African-American slaves for life in the American colonies.
1641 Massachusetts becomes the first colony to legalize slavery. Other colonies soon begin to recognize slavery as a legal institution.
1654 In Virginia, blacks are allowed to own slaves. Anthony Johnson becomes the first black man to hold slaves for life.
1662 Virginia enacts a law dictating that children of black mothers shall assume the social status of the mother: Children of free mothers shall be free, and children of enslaved mothers shall be slaves. Other southern colonies quickly follow suit, but northern colonies never pass specific laws regarding hereditary slavery.
1775 In April, the American Revolutionary War begins with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The world’s first abolitionist society (a group organized to oppose slavery) is founded in Philadelphia.
1776 On July 4 in Philadelphia, members of the Continental Congress sign the Declaration of Independence to create the United States of America. The Declaration states, “All men are created equal.”
1777 Vermont becomes the first U.S. territory to abolish slavery.
1780 Pennsylvania becomes the first U.S. state to abolish slavery.
1790 The results of the first United States census show that of the population of 3.9 million, nearly 700,000 (18 percent) are slaves.
1793 Congress passes the first federal Fugitive Slave Law, which allows slaveholders to pursue runaways across state lines. Later versions impose harsh penalties on those who harbor runaway slaves.
1808 Solomon Northup is born a free man in Minerva, New York. In the same year, the United States outlaws the importing of African slaves. Solomon probably came in contact with black slaves while growing up in New York.
1820 The Missouri Compromise admits Missouri into the Union and forbids slavery in any new western territories north of parallel 36°30’.
1827 Slavery is abolished in Solomon’s home state of New York.
1829 Solomon marries Anne Hampton on Christmas Day.
1840 On May 14, New York State passes a law making it the state’s duty to locate and recover any New York resident kidnapped and sold into slavery.
1841 Solomon is kidnapped and sold into slavery in Washington, D.C., transported to New Orleans, Louisiana, and sold again.
1843 On April 9, Solomon is sold to Edwin Epps.
1846 New Jersey becomes the last northern state to completely abolish slavery. The Border States of Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia allow slavery until the Civil War; the remaining slaves in Kentucky and Delaware are not freed until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.
1850 The Compromise of 1850 passes in September. It admits California into the Union as a free state and continues slavery in Washington, D.C., though it bans buying and selling slaves there.
1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe’s antislavery book Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published. It becomes the second-best-selling book in the country behind the Bible.
1852 Samuel Bass mails Solomon’s letter to Saratoga Springs, New York, on August 15.
1853 On January 4, Solomon is freed. His autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave, is published later in the year.
1861 The Civil War officially begins with the Battle of Fort Sumter in April.
1862 Slavery is officially abolished in Washington, D.C., when President Lincoln signs the Compensated Emancipation Act on April 16.
1863 On New Year’s Day, President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the states of the Confederacy. Because Lincoln did not have control over the Confederacy, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t actually free any southern slaves. Ironically, the Proclamation did not apply to Union border states.
1865 The Civil War ends on April 9; President Lincoln is assassinated on April 14. On December 6, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified by the states, officially abolishing slavery in the United States.
1860s Solomon Northup disappears from public view. The exact date and cause of his death are unknown.