Slavery and Civil War
1787: Am I Not a Man and a Brother?
This memorable image was created in support of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, a British abolitionist group founded in 1787. The inscription became a rallying cry for both British and American abolitionists.
1840s: Frederick Douglass -"Not as a Color but as a Man"
Born into slavery in Maryland, Frederick Douglass escaped to the North in 1838 and went on to become one of the leading abolitionists of the Antebellum era. Douglass is particularly remembered as a powerful orator and author with deep convictions about the equality of all people. In the 1840s, he traveled to Great Britain and Ireland, giving lectures in support of the anti-slavery movement. Douglass remarked that in England he was treated not "as a color, but as a man." British supporters raised funds to buy his freedom from his American owner.
1863: "Whipped Peter"
In 1863 an enslaved man named Gordon escaped from a plantation in Louisiana and managed to reach an encampment of Union soldiers near Baton Rouge. At the encampment, this photograph was taken of his scarred back -- the result of severe whipping by the plantation overseer. The image, which came to be known as "Whipped Peter," was published in the popular magazine Harper's Weekly and helped galvanize Northern opposition to slavery. Gordon later enlisted in the U.S. Colored Troops and served in the Civil War.
1788: Middle Passage Slave Ship
Slave ships transported human beings -- chained and stowed like cargo -- on the voyage from Africa to the United States. This horrifying diagram depicts Africans crammed between decks.
1850s: Harriet Tubman -The Underground Railroad's Most Famous Conductor
Known as the “Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman was a woman of extraordinary courage, selflessness, and determination. Born a slave, she escaped and then repeatedly risked her life by returning to the South to personally lead other enslaved family members and friends to freedom. In her journeys north she relied on the "Underground Railroad," a series of safe houses where the escapees could take shelter and avoid capture.
1863: Emancipation Proclamation
One of the most stirring and significant documents in our nation's history, President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves living in the rebellious Confederate states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
1863: Reading the Emancipation Proclamation
This image of a family of slaves reacting to the astonishing news of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation is one of several variations widely published. Mass-produced lithographs like these were frequently displayed prominently in homes and represent an important aspect of American history and popular culture.
1864: Sojourner Truth - “And ain’t I a woman?”
Born into slavery in New York, Sojourner Truth escaped with her infant daughter in 1826 and successfully sued to recover her son from slavery in 1828. She became an ardent abolitionist and an early advocate for women's rights. In 1851 she spoke up at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention, delivering a heartfelt message -- "And Ain't I a Woman? -- of her own experiences as a woman and former slave. Her remarks are regarded as one of the most famous speeches in American history.
1863: Union Soldier and Family
The Emancipation Proclamation made it possible for African American men to serve in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War. By the end of the war, some 200,000 had served their country, with nearly 40,000 losing their lives.
1865: Columbia
"Shall I trust these men, and not this man?"
In this 1865 magazine illustration, Columbia, symbolizing the United States, asks why she should forgive Confederate troops when a wounded African American Union soldier does not have the right to vote.
1865: General Order #3 & Juneteenth
The annual celebration known as Juneteenth commemorates the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. Although President Lincoln had issued the proclamation more than two years earlier, it was not until after the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865 that emancipation of the slaves could effectively be carried out.