A Timeline for the End of Slavery in the United States
Posted – August 13, 2021
Irrelevant tid bit – Natural resources are not given to us by our fathers, they are loaned to us by our children.
When did slavery end in the United States? The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on December 6, 1865.abolishing slavery throughout the U.S. except for prisoners. (This is a topic for another time.) But getting there was confusing and not a straight line.
In 1776 when the U.S. declared itself free from Great Britain, all 13 of the original states were slave states – Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts (included Maine), Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia (included West Virginia and most of Kentucky). By the start of the Civil War an additional 12 free and 9 slave states had been admitted to the United States. The Confederacy was formed when Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Texas succeeded from the United States. Five slave states; Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and New Jersey: remained in the union. During the Civil War West Virginia split from Virginia and joined the Union as a slave state. Before the end of the Civil War slavery was ended by state legislatures/governor’s proclamations in Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia. After the Civil War all new states were free.
SLAVERY CHRONOLOGY
1780 – Pennsylvania was the first state to abolish slavery although it was a gradual process. All existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. Pennsylvania totally abolished slavery in 1847.
1780’s – Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island adopted Pennsylvania’s slave policy.
1783 – Massachusetts outright abolishes slavery.
1791 – After settling New York’s claim to part of Vermont, it joined the United States as a free state.
1792 – Kentucky admitted to the U.S. as a slave state.
1796 – Tennessee joined the U.S. as a slave state.
1803 – Ohio admitted to the U.S. as a free state.
1804 – In New Jersey an 1804 statute and subsequent laws freed children born of slaves after the law was passed. African-Americans born to slave mothers after July 4, 1804, had to serve lengthy apprenticeships to the owners of their mothers. Women were freed at 21, but men were not emancipated until they were 25. Slaves who had been born before these laws were passed were considered, after 1846, as indentured servants who were "apprenticed for life”. Slavery did not end in New Jersey until the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
1812 – Louisiana admitted to the U.S. as a slave state.
1816 – Indiana joined the U.S. as a free state.
1817 – Mississippi entered the U.S. as a slave state.
1818 – Illinois joined the U.S. as a free state ….Before statehood the unenforced Northwest Ordinance banned slavery, but after statehood that did not apply, and about 900 slaves were held in the state. In 1822, state residents voted against making slavery legal. Still, most residents opposed allowing free blacks as permanent residents. The Illinois Constitution of 1848 had a provision allowing exclusionary laws to be passed, and in 1853, a new law prohibited all African-Americans, including freedmen, from settling in the state.
1819 – Alabama joined the U.S. as a slave state.
1820 – Maine, previously part of Massachusetts, became a free state as part of the Missouri Compromise.
1821 – Missouri became a slave state as part of the Missouri Compromise.
1827 – New York adopted Pennsylvania’s slave policy.
1828 – New York totally abolished slavery.
1836 – Arkansas admitted to the U.S. as a slave state.
1837 – Michigan joined the U.S. as a free state.
March 3, 1845 – Florida admitted to the U.S. as a slave state.
December 12, 1845 – Texas joined the U.S. as a slave state.
1846 – Iowa admitted to the U.S. as a free state.
1840’s to 1850’s – The last slaves died or were freed in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
1847 – Pennsylvania totally abolished slavery.
1848 – Wisconsin joined the U.S. as a free state.
1850 – As part of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted to the U.S. as a free state.
1857 – New Hampshire totally abolished slavery decades after the death of their last slave.
1858 – Minnesota joined the U.S. as a free state.
1859 – Oregon admitted as a free state in exchange for opening the southwest U.S. to slavery. Prior to statehood, in 1844 Oregon passed a Black Exclusion Law, which prohibited African-Americans from entering the territory while simultaneously prohibiting slavery. Slave owners who brought their slaves with them were given three years before they were forced to free them. Any African-Americans in the region after the law was passed were forced to leave, and those who did not comply were arrested and beaten: they received no less than twenty and no more than thirty-nine stripes across their bare back if they still did not leave. This process could be repeated every six months.1860 – New Jersey still had 18 people listed as “indentured for life”.
1861 – Kansas joined the U.S. as a free state.
April 16, 1862 - Slavery ended in the District of Columbia by an act of Congress.
June 19, 1862 - Congress prohibited slavery in all U.S. territories
June 20, 1863 – West Virginia admitted to the Union as a slave state with a gradual elimination of slavery policy.
September 22, 1863, effective January 1, 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln. This freed all the slaves in the rebellious states, but there were exceptions, mainly any areas occupied by Union forces at that time. Consequently 13 parishes in Louisiana and 48 counties in Virginia (these are the counties that broke off from Virginia to become West Virginia), and seven additional counties in Virginia, and all of Tennessee, which was entirely under Union control at that time, were not covered, meaning the slaves in those areas were not freed.
In law, but not in fact, slavery was ended in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, most of Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and most of Virginia.
October 24, 1864 – Because Tennessee was entirely under Union control at the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863), it remained a slave state. Military Governor Andrew Johnson declared the end of slavery in Tennessee on October 24, 1864.
October 31, 1864 – Nevada entered the Union as a free state.
November 1, 1864 – Slavery ended in Maryland, which had been a slave state in the Union.
January 11, 1865 - A state convention and the governor ended slavery in Missouri.
February 3, 1865 – Slavery abolished in West Virginia by the state legislature.
June 19, 1865 – Juneteenth, News of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, TX. Texas was the last Confederate state to be controlled by Union forces.
December 6, 1865 – The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified, abolishing slavery throughout the United States, except for prisoners.
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
1867 – Illegal slavery ended in New Mexico with the passage of the Peonage Act.
STATE BY STATE END OF SLAVERY HISTORY
Alabama - Slavery was legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Arizona – On February 24, 1863 the U.S. declared Arizona as a slave-free territory separate from the territory of New Mexico. The Confederate States of America also established an entity called the Arizona Territory, which had different boundaries from modern Arizona. Invading Confederate troops brought about 50 black slaves into the territory, but at the end of the Civil War slavery ended.
Arkansas - Slavery legally was ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Connecticut - In the mid-1780’s Connecticut established that all existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. By 1850 all slaves had died or were freed.
Delaware – During the Civil War Delaware was a slave state and part of the Union, so it was not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery did not end until the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865.
District of Columbia – Slavery ended by an act of Congress on April 16, 1862.
Florida - Slavery legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Georgia – Slavery legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Kentucky – At the start of the Civil War Kentucky declared itself neutral, so it never joined the Confederacy despite its acceptance by the Confederate congress. It remained in the Union and as such was not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery did not end in Kentucky until the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Louisiana – At the effective date (January 1, 1863) of the Emancipation Proclamation 13 parishes in Louisiana were under Union control, so not covered by the proclamation. Slavery was ended in these parishes and the remainder of Louisiana with the passage of the 13th Amendment (December 6, 1865).
Maryland - Maryland was a “Border State”- part of the Union, but slave, and consequently not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation. On November 1, 1864 Maryland abolished slavery.
Massachusetts – The first state to outright abolish slavery in 1783.
Mississippi - Slavery legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Missouri – At the start of the Civil War Missouri declared itself neutral, but it never joined the Confederacy despite its acceptance by the Confederate congress, so it remained in the Union and as such was not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation. On January 11, 1865 a state convention and a proclamation by the governor ended slavery in Missouri.
New Hampshire - In the mid-1780’s New Hampshire established that all existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. In 1857 New Hampshire totally abolished slavery decades after the death of their last slave.
New Jersey - In 1804 New Jersey established that all existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. In 1860 New Jersey still had 18 people listed as “indentured for life”. Slavery did not end until the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
New Mexico – At the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848 New Mexico became part of the United States, including much of what is today Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Slavery in the new territory became a major issue and, in the Compromise of 1850, it was decided that the New Mexico Territory would be able to choose its own stance on slavery by popular sovereignty. In 1859 New Mexico passed the Act for the Protection of Slave Property, which was partially because Territorial Governor William Carr Lane and Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court Grafton Baker owned black slaves. On June 19, 1862, the U.S. Congress prohibited slavery in all U.S. territories. Despite being illegal, slavery was widely and openly practiced until passage of the Peonage Act. Seeking to strengthen the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in 1865, Congress passed the Peonage Act of 1867 after learning of some New Mexicans owning hundreds and perhaps thousands of Indian slaves, mainly Navajo women and children.New York - In 1827 New York established that all existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. In 1828 New York totally abolished slavery.
North Carolina - Slavery legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Oregon - In 1859 Oregon was admitted to the United States as a free state in exchange for opening the southwest U.S. to slavery. Prior to statehood, in 1844 Oregon passed a Black Exclusion Law, which prohibited African-Americans from entering the territory while simultaneously prohibiting slavery. Slave owners who brought their slaves with them were given three years before they were forced to free them. Any African-Americans in the region after the law was passed were forced to leave, and those who did not comply were arrested and beaten: they received no less than twenty and no more than thirty-nine stripes across their bare back if they still did not leave. This process could be repeated every six months.
Pennsylvania – The first state to abolish slavery in 1780 although it was a gradual process. All existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. Totally abolished slavery in 1847.
Rhode Island – In mid-1780’s Rhode Island established that all existing slaves would remain slaves, but anyone born of slaves would become free when they reached the “age of majority”. By 1850 all slaves had died or were freed.
South Carolina - Slavery legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Tennessee - Because Tennessee was entirely under Union control at the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, it remained a slave state. Military Governor Andrew Johnson declared the end of slavery in Tennessee on October 24, 1864.
Texas - Slavery legally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and confirmed by the 13th Amendment.
Virginia - At the effective date (January 1, 1863) of the Emancipation Proclamation seven counties in Virginia were under Union control, so not covered by the proclamation. Slavery was ended in these counties and the remainder of Virginia with the ratification of the 13th Amendment (December 6, 1865).
West Virginia – The western part of Virginia had a long history of differences with the eastern part of the state. Most of the wealth and political power was in the east, and this was resented in the west. Because the west was mostly not suitable for agriculture, too mountainous, slavery was not as prevalent as in the east. At the start of the Civil War the west became active in breaking apart from the remainder of Virginia.
On June 20, 1863 West Virginia was admitted to the Union, oddly enough as a slave state despite that being one of the area’s differences with the eastern part of Virginia. Originally 48 Virginia counties wanted to be in West Virginia, but 50 counties were included with one of the additional counties designated as slave free. However, West Virginia had a provision for the gradual elimination of slavery in the entire state - it was illegal to import slaves and all people born of slaves would be free. This policy was cut short when the West Virginia legislature abolished slavery in the entire state on February 3, 1865.
All the other states were admitted to the Union as free states. However, before Hawaii became a U.S. territory, thousands of Japanese had been shipped to the islands to work as indentured servants on sugar plantations. On August 12, 1898 Hawaii became a U..S. territory, and in April 1900 the Hawaiian Organic Act voided all indentured servant contracts.
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