African-American History Timeline 1840 to 1849

The abolition movement picked up steam during the 1830s. In the decade that followed, freed African-Americans continued to lock arms with white abolitionists to fight against enslavement.   1840   The territory of Texas makes it unlawful to trade enslaved people. The state also considers it illegal for enslaved African-Americans to carry weapons without permission.  Black Codes are established in South Carolina. Under these codes, enslaved African-Americans are unable to gather in groups, earn money, grow crops independently, learn to read and own high-quality clothing.   1841 After a long legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court finds that Africans aboard the Amistad ship are now free.  Residents of Texas are given the responsibility of catching runaway slaves and then, alerting local law enforcement.   1842   The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states do not need to offer assistance to recapturing runaway slaves in the case, Prigg v. Pennsylvania.  Georgia lawmakers declare that they will not consider freed African-Americans as citizens. 1843   Sojourner Truth  and  William Wells Brown become prominent speakers on the anti-slavery lecturing circuit.  New York, Vermont, and Ohio pass personal liberty laws in response to the Prigg v. Pennsylvania ruling.  Henry Highland Garnet  speaks at the National Negro Convention  and delivers Address to the Slaves. 1844 Beginning in 1844 through  1865, abolitionist William Still  assists  at least sixty enslaved African-Americans escape bondage every month. As a result, Still becomes known as the Father of the Underground Railroad.Connecticut also passes a personal liberty law.  North Carolina pass a law declaring it will not recognize freed African-Americans as citizens.  Oregon prohibits enslavement within the state.   1845 Texas enters the United States as a slave state.  Frederick Douglass  publishes The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The narrative is a bestseller  and is  reprinted nine times in its first three years of publication. The narrative is  also translated into French and Dutch.Abolitionist and writer Frances Watkins publishes her first collection of poetry, Forest Leaves.  Macon Bolling Allen  becomes the first African-American to be admitted to the bar and is allowed to practice law in Massachusetts.  William Henry Lane, also known as  Master Juba, is considered the first famous African-American performer.   1846 Missouri allows interstate trading of enslaved people.   1847 Douglass begins publishing  The North Star  in Rochester, NY. The publication is a result of his division with abolitionist William Lloyd Garrisons news publication  The Liberator.The state of Missouri prohibit freed African-Americans from receiving an education.  Ã‚  Robert Morris Sr.  becomes the first African-American attorney to file a lawsuit.  Abolitionists in the state of Missouri file a lawsuit to help Dred Scott  become free.  David Jones Peck graduates from Rush Medical College in Chicago, becoming the first African-American to graduate from a medical school in the United States.   1848   Douglass along with 30 other men  attend the Womens Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Douglass is the only African-American man present and publicly supports Elizabeth Cady Stantons  stance on womens suffrage.  Several anti-slavery organizations work together to create the Free Soil Party. The group opposes the expansion of enslavement into western territories. The Republic Party will eventually be born from the Free Soil Party.  Following states such as New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Ohio, Rhode Island also passes a personal liberty law.The first lawsuit challenging  separate but equal laws is fought in Boston. The case,  Robert v. Boston is filed by Benjamin Roberts files a school desegregation lawsuit for his daughter, Sarah, who was unable to register for public school in Boston. The lawsuit was unsuccessful and was used to support the separate but equal argument in the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896.  Like Missouri, South Carolina abolishes laws placing restraints on interstate slave trading. 1849 The  California Gold Rush  begins. As a result, an estimated 4,000 African-Americans will migrate to California to participate in the Gold Rush.  Britain recognizes Liberia as a sovereign state. Joseph Jenkins, formerly of Virginia, becomes Liberias first president.  The Virginia legislature passes a law allowing an enslaved African-American to be freed by will or deed.  Like states such as South Carolina and Missouri, Kentucky lifts restraints on interstate slave trade.  Harriet Tubman  ends her enslavement by successfully escaping to the North. Tubman then begins to help other enslaved people reach freedom through the Underground Railroad.