Slave states and free states
In 1619, twenty and odd enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, marking the legal establishment of slavery across all Thirteen Colonies. By the mid-1700s, organized movements to end this system began forming. Enslaved Black people throughout New England sent petitions to northern legislatures demanding freedom during the 1770s. Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780, followed by New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1783. Connecticut and Rhode Island adopted similar measures in 1784. Vermont declared independence from Britain in 1777 and banned slavery that same year before joining the Union as the fourteenth state in 1791. Thousands of Black Americans fought for the Patriot cause during the Revolutionary War, while others joined the British under offers like the Philipsburg Proclamation. Despite these early abolition efforts, gradual implementation meant many remained in bondage or indentured servitude well into the 1840 census.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 debated slavery extensively yet never mentioned it explicitly in the document. Article 4, section 2, clause 3 referred to a person held to service or labor rather than using the word slave. The Three-Fifths Clause granted slave states representation equivalent to 60 percent of their enslaved populations in the House of Representatives. Elbridge Gerry questioned why blacks who were property should count toward representation any more than cattle and horses of the North. Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves in 1807, which took effect on the 1st of January 1808. This ban spurred expansion of the domestic slave trade instead. By 1804, eight states had abolished slavery or set measures to gradually end it, while another eight maintained the institution indefinitely. The Senate balance became paramount as free state populations began outstripping those of slave states.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in federal territories north of the Ohio River. Six states emerged from this territory: Ohio in 1803, Indiana in 1816, Illinois in 1818, Michigan in 1837, Wisconsin in 1848, and Minnesota in 1858. All remained free states. Controversy over Missouri's admission led to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which drew a line at latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes across Louisiana Purchase lands. Maine entered the Union as a free state on the 19th of August 1821, paired with Missouri's admission as a slave state. Arkansas joined in 1836, bringing the total slave states to thirteen, but Michigan's admission that same year restored equilibrium. By 1845, Texas and Florida entered as slave states, temporarily outnumbering free states until Iowa joined in 1846. Senator Albert Brown declared his desire for Tamaulipas, Potosi, and other Mexican states for plantation expansion during debates about western territories.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 superseded the Missouri Compromise by allowing white male settlers to determine slavery through popular sovereignty. Pro-slavery Border Ruffians from Missouri flooded into Kansas alongside anti-slavery Free-Staters and Free-Soilers. Bloody fighting erupted throughout the later 1850s as both sides sought to vote slavery up or down. The proposed pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution failed approval because it lacked an honest election. Anti-slavery proponents prevented Kansas Territory from becoming a slave state despite years of conflict. When Southern members of Congress departed en masse in early 1861, Kansas was immediately admitted to the Union as a free state. Minnesota had already been admitted unimpeded in 1858, ending Senate balance. Oregon followed as another free state in 1859, further disrupting the political equilibrium that slave-state politicians had maintained since 1812.
During the Civil War, eleven slave states joined the Confederacy while four border states remained loyal: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. Western Virginia split from the parent state to form West Virginia, admitted on the 20th of June 1863 with gradual emancipation commitments. President Lincoln signed the statehood bill on the 31st of December 1862 after Congress added the Willey Amendment. Voters approved this amendment on the 26th of March 1863. Nevada entered as a free state in 1864. Two additional counties, Berkeley and Jefferson, were added to West Virginia in late 1863. Slaves in Berkeley County were not emancipated under the original arrangement, though those in Jefferson County were freed. The Willey Amendment only freed children at birth or upon reaching adulthood until the legislature abolished slavery completely on the 3rd of February 1865.
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on the 1st of January 1863, exempting border states and some occupied territories from immediate freedom. Congress passed the DC Compensated Emancipation Act on the 16th of April 1862, abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia five months before Antietam. Some enslavers refused to acknowledge the law, prompting supplemental legislation in July 1862 allowing victims to file petitions independently. Arkansas adopted an anti-slavery constitution on the 16th of March 1864 while Louisiana did so on the 5th of September 1864. Maryland abolished slavery on the 1st of November 1864, and Missouri followed on the 11th of January 1865. Tennessee ended slavery by popular vote effective the 22nd of February 1865. Delaware, Kentucky, and New Jersey maintained slavery legally until the 18th of December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. This amendment abolished chattel slavery throughout the United States except as punishment for a crime, finally ending the distinction between slave and free states.
Common questions
When did twenty and odd enslaved Africans arrive in Virginia to establish slavery legally?
Twenty and odd enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, marking the legal establishment of slavery across all Thirteen Colonies. This event initiated the system that would eventually divide the United States into slave states and free states.
Which state became a free state on the 19th of August 1821 after the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
Maine entered the Union as a free state on the 19th of August 1821. It was paired with Missouri's admission as a slave state to maintain Senate balance following the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
What date did President Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation exempting border states from immediate freedom?
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on the 1st of January 1863. The proclamation exempted border states and some occupied territories from immediate freedom while Congress passed the DC Compensated Emancipation Act on the 16th of April 1862.
On what date did Delaware Kentucky and New Jersey maintain slavery until the Thirteenth Amendment took effect?
Delaware Kentucky and New Jersey maintained slavery legally until the 18th of December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. This amendment abolished chattel slavery throughout the United States except as punishment for a crime.
All sources
49 references cited across the entry
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