From Slavery to Civil Rights - For Teachers (Library of Congress)

From Slavery to Civil Rights: A Timeline of African-American History

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picture - The large, bold woodcut image of a supplicant male slave in chains appears on the 1837 broadside publication of John Greenleaf Whittier's antislavery poem, 'Our Countrymen in Chains.'

The first Africans at Jamestown were purchased as indentured servants from the Dutch. Over the course of two centuries, however, most Africans in the Americas were bought and sold as a source of slave labor, were denied the most basic human rights and were often subject to abusive treatment.

picture - Sculpture of Abraham Lincoln standing above crouched slave wearing manacles

Antislavery sentiments in America date back to the 1600s. However, the abolition movement didn't come to the forefront until the early 1800s, when the first abolitionist periodicals were published. The movement gained momentum over the next few decades, leading to Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in rebel states.

picture - A sheet music cover illustrated with a portrait of prominent black abolitionist Frederick Douglass as a runaway slave.

Not all blacks were enslaved during the period prior to the Civil War. However, these free blacks were not treated as equal citizens. Free blacks, found primarily in Northern states, had to carry papers proving they were not slaves. Otherwise, they faced capture and transport to the South where they could be sold into slavery.

picture - Photograph from the main eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865.

Although they often received lower pay, performed menial duties and faced further discrimination, black soldiers were allowed to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War. They fought in segregated units, under the command of white officers.

picture - The first vote, drawn by A.R. Waud

From 1865 to 1877, the Constitution was amended three times to provide equal rights to black Americans. Slavery was abolished, and citizenship and voting rights were guaranteed. Blacks gained political power as they were elected to office at all levels of government.

picture - Booker T. Washington, half-length portrait, seated at desk, facing right

Following the formal period of Reconstruction, laws were passed, severely limiting the freedoms given to blacks. Poll taxes and literacy tests made voting difficult, while Jim Crow laws, upheld by the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, created segregated public facilities. Schools such as Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute provided quality education for blacks.

picture - African American soldiers fighting German soldiers in World War I, and head-and-shoulders portrait of Abraham Lincoln above.

Even though black soldiers still faced discrimination at home, they fought for freedom abroad. Once again, they fought in segregated units.

picture - Manpower. Negro shipyard workers. Skills which contributed to America's success in World War I are vital to our efforts in World War II. This Negro riveter is a veteran employee in a large Eastern shipyard. Another Negro broke the world record for riveting in World War I. Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation. Kearny, New Jersey.

During World War I, many blacks fled the South seeking new jobs in factories in Northern cities. This great migration continued through the early 1940s. This time period also brought an increased popularity in music and the arts, centered in the Harlem Renaissance.

picture - Seven pilots on airplane, Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama

The 332nd Fighter Group, the most successful airmen of World War II, flew more than 200 escort missions, not once losing an aircraft. This group, part of the all-black Tuskegee Airmen, proved their superior skills in the air, but were treated as second-class citizens on the ground. They were not allowed access to the same facilities as white airmen and had little chance for promotion upon their return.

picture - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressing a crowd on a street in Lakeview, N.Y., May 12th.

In the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, segregated schools were declared unconstitutional. This landmark decision sparked the modern Civil Rights movement. Led by Martin Luther King Jr., blacks engaged in a series of nonviolent protests throughout the South to bring about the end of segregation and racial domination.

picture - Washington, D.C. Teacher helping pupils in Negro grammar school.

The American Memory collections contain hundreds of items documenting African-American history. The "For Teachers" links will help you extend this activity for your students. Included are links to specific American Memory collections or exhibits as well as links to several excellent resources outside of The Library of Congress Web sites.