Monday, December 19, 2011

Historical Significance



A. Invention of the cotton gin in 1793
- Created by Eli Whitney this machine allowed for  seed separation from cotton fiber which farmers could save many hours workers would have to pull in order to separate seed from fiber.
B. Margaret Garner
-Former Kentucky slave that escaped over Ohio River with family and four children as she and her family were about to be brought back by their masters she grabbed a knife, slit her baby girls throat, and attempted killing her other children and herself but was captured before she could complete her task. Inspiration for Toni Morrison's Beloved.
C. Fugitive Slave Law (1850)
- Anyone aiding fugitive slaves will be imprisoned and fined, slaves that escape from masters may be captured and returned, even if they make it to a free state, if person is suspicious of fugitive slave they can take them in without any proof or warrant to be claimed. 
D. Supreme Court Decision of 1857 (Dred Scott Case)
-Scott went to court for freedom in 1857 and through a long period of time the court decided that all slaves and those that were free could never be citizens of the U.S and could not sue in court and the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories. Scott stayed a slave.
E. Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
-freed slaves in states that had seceded from the Union during the Civil War.
F. Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
- this abolished slavery and involuntary services in the U.S.
G. Klu Klux Klan(1866 )
- Originated for confederate army veterans that walked around as the 'ghosts' of the rebellion. Soon after established these men started harassing the black population especially those that acted as if they had the rights of white people.
H. Reconstruction
- post Civil War attempts to rebuild nation, and reconstruct Southern states.

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