People, Locations, Episodes

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. In 1835, he constructed a building that served as an office and residence. Five years later, he enlarged […]

Snow Race Riot occurs

*On this date in 1835, the Snow Race Riot occurred. This was a riot and lynching that took place in Washington, D.C. It was an attack on free blacks in the city by whites, the Snow Riot wreaked havoc on anything affiliated with free blacks for days by robbing and destroying all of their establishments. The name of the riot comes from one of […]

The Texas Revolution, a story

*The Texas Revolution began on this date in 1835. This conflict was a rebellion of white and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) in armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. The revolution began after a decade of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and Texas’s increasingly large population of white-American settlers. Mexico officially abolished […]

The Alamo Conflict, a story

*On this date in 1836, the Mexican army began attacking the Alamo. This saga of the American story is an important piece of African American history.

Most of the men and women who moved to the Texas territory were colonizers who came in search of wealth and adventure, eager to grab up the land Mexico was handing out by the acre. In doing so, they agreed to convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens. Few did either. Once in Texas, they also realized there was much money to be made in Mexico’s cotton industry.

New Philadelphia, Illinois is Founded

*New Philadelphia, Illinois, is celebrated on this date in 1836.  This is one of many original Black Town sites in America.  The now-vanished town of “New Philadelphia,” Illinois, is located near Barry, in Pike County.   It was the first town in the United States to be platted and registered by a Black man before the American Civil War. The founder, Free Frank McWorter, was […]

Mississippi-in-Africa is Founded

*On this date in 1837, we celebrate the Mississippi-in-Africa.  This colony on the Pepper Coast (West Africa) was founded by America’s Mississippi Colonization Society and settled by American freedmen and former slaves. The American Colonization Society (ACS) was founded in the United States in 1816 as a joint project by proslavery and antislavery advocates to establish a […]

The Slave Compensation Act Becomes Law

*The Slave Compensation Act 1837 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on December 23, 1837. Together with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, it authorized the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to compensate slave owners in the British colonies of approximately £20 million for the freeing of […]

Black Seminoles Defeat American Troops at Okeechobee

On this date in 1831, during the Second Seminole War, a force of Seminole Indians defeated U.S. troops in the Battle of Okeechobee in Florida.

Chief John Horse (a Black man) shared command with Alligator Sam Jones and Wild Cat. Blacks had a reputation as “fearless” fighters in the numerous battles with U.S. troops. Blacks also served with the American troops as scouts, interpreters, and even spies. In 1849, the U.S. attorney general’s office ruled that Black Seminoles were slaves by law. The U.S. government actively promoted slavery among relocated Native American tribes.

Georgetown University Sells African Slaves, a story

*On this date in 1838, Georgetown University sold 272 African Slaves through their administration.

These humans were loaded on ships at a active landing stage in the nation’s capital, intended for the plantations of the Deep South. Some slaves pleaded for rosaries as they were rounded up, praying for deliverance. No one was spared: baby’s, mothers, not the field hands, not the shoemaker and not Cornelius Hawkins, who was about 13 years old when he was forced onboard.

Joseph R. Holmes, Farmer and Politician born

*The birth of Joseph R. Holmes is celebrated on this date in 1838. He was a Black shoemaker, farmer, and politician. Holmes published various articles critical of conservatives after the American Civil War. After being emancipated from Charlotte County, Virginia, he married Mary Clarke. They had three sons and one daughter. On October 23, 1867, Holmes […]

Cinque kidnapped, The Amistad Saga Begins

On this date in 1839, Cinque of the Mende tribe was kidnapped into slavery.