The History of Slavery and the Fight for Civil Rights

Posted on May 19, 2024 in History

The History of Slavery

  • 1452: Pope Nicholas V issues Discovery Doctrine, setting the framework and justifying Christian explorers and colonizers.
  • 1619: First African slaves brought to Jamestown.
  • 1807: Slave trade abolished in England.
  • 1807: Transatlantic slave trade made illegal.
  • 1841: Amistad trial. A group of slaves fought back on a slave ship, landed in New York, and were put on trial. They were defended by John Quincy Adams and acquitted, and allowed to go to Africa.
  • 1835: Oberlin admits black students.
  • 1863: Emancipation Proclamation. Declared all black slaves would be set free in Confederate states. Issued by Abraham Lincoln.
  • 1865: Klu Klux Klan established.
  • 1915: Klu Klux Klan reestablished.
  • 1953: Brown v. Board of Education. Supreme Court case where justices ruled racial segregation for children in school is unconstitutional. ‘Separate by equal’ is not equal.
  • 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated.
  • 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

The Fight for Civil Rights

  • 1954: Brown v. Board of Education. Supreme Court case where justices ruled racial segregation for children in school is unconstitutional. ‘Separate by equal’ is not equal.
  • 1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, sparking a year-long boycott of the Montgomery bus system.
  • 1963: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A massive march on Washington, D.C., where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
  • 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
  • 1965: Voting Rights Act of 1965. Prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
  • 1968: Fair Housing Act of 1968. Prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.

Additional Notes

  • The four silent films mentioned in the document are:
    • Quo Vadis (1913)
    • Cabiria (1914)
    • The Birth of a Nation (1915)
    • Intolerance (1916)
  • The document also mentions several notable African Americans who have made significant contributions to the fight for civil rights, including:
    • Booker T. Washington
    • W.E.B. Du Bois
    • Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • Malcolm X