On December 20, 1860, a secession convention in South Carolina voted unanimously to secede from the Union. Fearing that Republican Abraham Lincoln’s administration would appoint antislavery officials who would undermine slavery, slaveholders chose to abandon the Constitution and form their own nation. To justify…
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December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William Seward officially proclaimed the Thirteenth Amendment ratified, officially ending slavery in the United States. Seward’s announcement was especially fulfilling to the New Yorker, who had spent much of his adult life fighting for the end of slavery.…
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John Brown’s hanging on December 2, 1859, was a moment of profound historical significance, symbolizing the deep divisions over slavery in pre-Civil War America. The execution occurred in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), just weeks after his failed raid on the federal armory…
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On December 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his second State of the Union Address, a landmark speech that emphasized the moral and strategic motivations behind the Union’s fight in the American Civil War. Delivered just ten weeks after the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln…
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On November 24, 1832, South Carolina’s state legislature took a dramatic and unprecedented step in American history by passing the Ordinance of Nullification. The ordinance declared that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void within the state’s…
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On September 9, 1850, President Millard Fillmore staved off a potential civil war and stopped the spread of slavery in the United States by signing the Compromise of 1850. The compromise consisted of several legislative measures that were designed to balance the interests of…
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The following is an adapted excerpt from The Slaveholding Crisis: Fear of Insurrection and the Coming of the Civil War, used with the author’s permission. On August 30, 1800, a storm likely changed the course of the United States forever when an enslaved blacksmith named…
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The Northwest Ordinance, adopted on July 13, 1787, established a government for the Northwest Territory, outlined state admission process, ensured equality with the original thirteen states, protected civil liberties, and banned slavery in new territories. The Ordinance would play a major role in the…
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On July 2, 1839, over 50 captives on a slave ship named La Amistad threw off their chains and seized control of the ship. Led by Joseph Cinqué, the Africans killed the ship’s captain and another crew member, demanding to be returned to Mendiland (now Sierra Leone).…
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Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The first Juneteenth was celebrated on June 19, 1865, marking a pivotal moment in American history and symbolizing the end of slavery in the…
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