The name of the author and the page number of the reference is in parenthesis. The full citations are available in the issue bibliography.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1509 | Beginnings of slave trade; Spanish settlers to take African slaves to New World (Grun, 227). |
| 1518 | Lorens de Gominot granted license to import 4,000 African slaves to Spanish-American colonies (Grun, 231). |
| 1619 | First African slaves in North America arrive at Va. (Grun, 279). |
| 1700 | Samuel Sewall's book, The Selling of Joseph, becomes 1st American protest against slavery (Grun, 321). |
| 1746 | Five black slaves belonging to French settlers in Vincennes are 1st documented blacks living in what is now Ind. (Thornbrough, Negro, 1). |
| 1778 | U.S. Congress prohibits import of slaves into U.S. (Grun, 361). |
| 1787 | U.S. Congress passes Northwest Ordinance prohibiting slavery in Northwest Territory (Hawkins, 23). |
| 1792 | Denmark becomes 1st nation to abolish slave trade (Grun, 368). |
| 1793 | U.S. law requires escaped slaves be returned to owners (Grun, 369). |
| 1794 | Slavery abolished in French colonies (Grun, 371). |
| 1803 | Ind. Territorial Legislature enacts law which allows whites to hold Negroes and Mulattoes, and other noncitizens of U.S., as slaves while legally referring to them as servants (Philbrick, 42-46). |
| 1805 | Ind. Territorial Legislature enacts law allowing whites to bring Negroes and Mulattoes of and beyond the age of 15 into Ind. and indenture them into a determined service; males under 15 were to serve until 35, females until 32; masters required to register and post a $500 bond for each servant (Philbrick, 136-39). |
| 1807 | England prohibits slave trade (Grun, 379). |
| 1807 | Ind. Territorial Legislature enacts law which allows slaves to be brought into territory, requiring them to sign recorded agreement to serve a master; if they refuse, they would be removed to a slave state (Philbrick, 523-26). |
| 1807 | Ind. Territorial Legislature adds restrictions for servants; requires a pass when at, or more than, 10 miles from master's home, unable to go to other plantations without permission, and "Riots, routs, unlawful assemblies, trespass and seditious speeches" punished by whipping (Philbrick, 463-67). |
| 1808 | U.S. prohibits slave trade from Africa (Grun, 378). |
| 1815 | Paul Cuffee, black Quaker, finances voyage to Sierra Leone, Africa with group of black Americans and establishes settlement (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1816 | Ind. Constitution forbids slavery; forbids "Negroes, Mulattoes and Indians" to serve in the militia and vote (Hawkins, 84, 86). |
| 1817 | Based on Sierra Leone settlement, white proponents of black colonization form American Colonization Society (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1817 | Samuel Milroy, Ind. General Assembly, proposes a resolution to move free blacks to the West (Crenshaw, 13). |
| 1818 | Ind. law declares no person with a fourth or more Negro blood can give testimony in cases involving a white party; intermarriage between whites and blacks forbidden (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 2). |
| 1819 | Ill. Black Law restricts black immigration (Thornbrough, Negro, 56). |
| 1820 | Missouri Compromise - Me. enters Union as free state (1820); Mo. as a slave state (1821) (Grun, 386). |
| 1820 | In a test case, Polly v. Lasselle, Ind. Supreme Court affirms that Constitution abolished slavery in Ind.; illegal indentures still exist (Thornbrough, Negro, 25-27). |
| 1820 | American Colonization Society sends 1st immigrants to Sherbro Island, Sierra Leone; high death rate results from unhealthy conditions (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1820 January 20 | Auxiliary of the American Colonization Society organized in Corydon, Ind. (Crenshaw, 13-14). |
| 1821 | American Colonization Society obtains land at Cape Mesurado, Africa using $300 worth of rum, weapons, supplies, and trade goods (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1822 | Sherbro Island survivors arrive at Cape Mesurado; begin to build colony, Christopolis, under American Colonization Society agent (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1822 | Thornton Alexander, a free black, settles in Randolph Co., Ind., starting the Greenville Settlement (Thornbrough, Negro, 49). |
| 1825 | American Colonization Society agent and residents of Christopolis form constitution, government, and digest of laws of Liberia; settlement renamed Monrovia after U.S. President James Monroe; colony as whole formally called Liberia (free land) (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1825 February 7 | Ind. General Assembly concurs with resolution of Ohio legislature recommending to U.S. Congress a plan for promoting emancipation and foreign colonization (Thornbrough, Negro, 75). |
| 1825 | Black community, Cabin Creek, Randolph Co., Ind. founded (Thornbrough, Negro, 49). |
| 1827 | U.S. slave states, anxious to get rid of free blacks, organize colonization societies and found colonies in Liberia; many force blacks to emigrate (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1829 | Mexico abolishes slavery (Grun, 393). |
| 1829 | Ind. General Assembly passes a resolution in favor of federal aid to American Colonization Society (Thornbrough, Negro, 75). |
| 1829 November | Ind. Colonization Society organized in Indianapolis (Thornbrough, Negro, 75). |
| 1829 | Beech, a black community, begins in Rush Co., Ind. (Thornbrough, Negro, 49). |
| 1830 | Lost Creek, Vigo Co., Ind., site of large land purchases by free blacks from N.C. (Thornbrough, Negro, 51). |
| 1830 | First national black convention held in Philadelphia, Pa. (Thornbrough, Negro, 78). |
| 1831 | Nat Turner, a free black, leads slave revolt in Va. (Grun, 394). |
| 1831 | William Lloyd Garrison begins to publish abolitionist periodical, The Liberator in Boston, Mass. (Grun, 395). |
| 1831 | Ind. General Assembly passes act which requires blacks to post a $500 bond as a guarantee not to become a public charge and as a pledge of good behavior (Laws [revised], 1831, p. 375). |
| 1832 | New England Anti-Slavery Society established in Boston, Mass. (Grun, 397). |
| 1833 | British Empire abolishes slavery (Grun, 399). |
| 1837 | U.S. Congress passes Gag Law, suppressing debate on slavery (Grun, 403). |
| 1837 | Roberts Settlement, a black com-munity, begun in Hamilton Co., Ind. (Thornbrough, Negro, 50). |
| 1838 | Colonies of American Colonization Society, Va., and Pa. merge into Commonwealth of Liberia; claim control of settlements from Cestos River to Cape Mount; adopt new constitution and appoint governor in 1839 (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1839 | Revolt on the Amistad; slaves overpower Spaniards. |
| 1842 | Miss. settlement on Sinoe River joins Commonwealth of Liberia (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1843 | Ind. General Assembly restricts public schools, previously open to all, to white children only(Thornbrough, Negro, 162-64). |
| 1843 | Ind. laws prevent Negroes and Mulattoes from marrying whites and serving as witnesses against whites in court (Laws [revised] 1843, pp. 595, 718). |
| 1846 | Commonwealth of Liberia angers local traders and British merchants with taxation; British do not recognize commonwealth sovereignty; colonists vote for independence (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1847 | Liberian Declaration of Independence adopted and signed; British recognize independence and sovereignty, U.S. does not (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1848 | Liberian Constitution ratified; 1st election held (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1850 | U.S. population of 23 million includes 3.2 million slaves (Grun, 417). |
| 1850 | U.S. Congress passes Fugitive Slave Act; denies jury trial to alleged fugitives, federal officers enforce return of blacks to south (Thornbrough, Negro, 114-15). |
| 1851 | Article 13 of 1851 Ind. Constitution prohibits blacks from entering Ind.; provides money to send current black residents to colonize Liberia, Africa (Thornbrough, Negro, 67-68, 84-85). |
| 1851 | Liberia College founded in Monrovia (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1852 | Ind. General Assembly passes act to provide colonization for Negroes and Mulattoes with $5,000 appropriation; establishes State Board of Colonization (Laws [revised] 1852, p. 222). |
| 1853 | Ind. State Board of Colonization is given power to commission an agent to assist it, with a salary not exceeding $600 (Laws 1853, p. 23). |
| 1861 | Approximately 11,000 blacks live in Ind. (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 12). |
| 1861-1865 | U.S. Civil War (Grun, 424, 428). |
| 1862 | U.S. President Abraham Lincoln officially recognizes Liberia (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1862 | U.S. Congress authorizes president to employ blacks in war (Thornbrough, Negro, 192). |
| 1863 | Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in seceded states (Thornbrough, Negro,187-88). |
| 1863 | Ind. Gov. Oliver P. Morton authorizes black regiment; becomes 28th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops (Thornbrough, Negro, 196-99). |
| 1865 | Ku Klux Klan organized in Pulaski, Tenn.(Grun, 429). |
| 1865 | Black citizens from nearly 30 Ind. counties hold convention in Indianapolis; want repeal of law restricting testimony and education benefits; legislature partially repeals testimony law (Thornbrough, Negro, 232). |
| 1865-1903 | Without being indicted, or found guilty, at least 20 blacks hanged in Ind. (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 7). |
| 1866 | Ind. Supreme Court invalidates Article 13 (Negro exclu-sion) of 1851 Constitution (Thornbrough, Negro, 206). |
| 1869 | Ind. General Assembly passes act requiring school trustees with sufficient black popu-lation, to organize separate schools for black children (Thornbrough, Negro, 323). |
| 1869 | Ind. ratifies 15th Amendment to U.S. Constitution giving vote to black men (Thornbrough, Negro, 248). |
| 1875 | U.S. Congress passes Civil Rights Act prohibi-ting discrimination in public accommodations, amusements, and conveyances (Thornbrough, Negro, 257). |
| 1877 | Ind. General Assembly amends school law and per-mits black students to attend white schools where no black schools exist, thereby opening public high schools to black students (Thornbrough, Negro, 341). |
| 1879-1885 | Brothers Robert, Benjamin, and James Bagley publish Indianapolis Leader, first black newspaper in Ind. (Thornbrough, Negro, 383-84). |
| 1880 | James S. Hinton, 1st black citizen elected to Ind. House of Representatives (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 9). |
| 1885 | Ind. General Assembly passes Civil Rights Law prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, amusements, and conveyances; law generally ignored by white residents (Thornbrough, Negro, 394). |
| 1896 | In Plessy v. Ferguson, U.S. Supreme Court declares that "separate but equal" facilities do not violate the equal protection clause of 14th Amendment (Thornbrough, Negro, 328n). |
| 1900 | More than 57,000 blacks live in Ind.; 16,000 live in Indianapolis (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 15). |
| 1902 | Young black men in Indianapolis form group as branch of Ind. Young Men's Christian Association; becomes the Senate Avenue YMCA (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 84). |
| 1903 | Governments of Liberia and Great Britain agree on Sierra Leone and Liberian borders (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1903 July | Violent race riots in Evansville; state militia sent by Gov. Winfield Durbin (Thornbrough, Negro, 284-85). |
| 1908 | Jack Johnson becomes the world's 1st black heavyweight boxing champion (Grun, 461). |
| 1910 | W. E. B. DuBois establishes National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in U.S. (Grun, 462). |
| 1914-1919 | World War I (Grun, 466-76). |
| 1924 | Ku Klux Klan-backed Republican party wins Ind. elections (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 31-33). |
| 1935 | Ind. law requires Indianapolis to provide transportation for black students required to attend segregated schools (Thornbrough, Emancipation, 56). |
| 1935 | Black athlete, Jesse Owens, wins four gold medals at Olympic Games, Germany (Grun, 511). |
| 1940-1945 | World War II (Grun, 516-24). |
| 1943 | Race riots in several major U.S. cities (Grun, 521). |
| 1946 | Indigenous peoples of Liberia given right to vote and participate in elections (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1947 | Jackie Robinson becomes 1st black to sign with major league baseball team (Grun, 527). |
| 1949 | Ind. General Assembly bans segregation in public schools (Thornbrough, Negro, 395). |
| 1954 | U.S. Supreme Court outlaws segregation in public schools (Grun, 536). |
| 1955 | Blacks boycott buses in Montgomery, Ala. (Grun, 538). |
| 1957 | President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends troops to Little Rock, Ark.; schools refuse to deseg-regate (Grun, 541). |
| 1958 | Liberian representatives attend 1st conference of independent African nations (Library of Congress Timeline). |
| 1963 | Civil rights demonstrations by blacks in Birmingham, Ala.; riots, beatings by whites and police result; "Freedom Marchers," 200,000 blacks and whites, demonstrate in Washington, D.C. (Grun, 550). |
| 1963 | President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Tex. (Grun, 552). |
| 1965 | Malcom X assassinated in N.Y.; racial violence in Selma, Ala.; 4,000 civil rights demonstrators led by Martin Luther King, march from Selma to Montgomery: race riots in Watts, district of Los Angeles: 35 dead, 4,000 arrested, $40 million in property damage (Grun, 554). |