Slavery and Resistance Archives

Nov. 7, 1837: Elijah Parish Lovejoy Murdered

Minister, journalist, newspaper editor, and abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered by a pro-slavery mob.

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

Picture book. By Tim Tingle. 2008. 40 pages.
A picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage.

Nov. 29, 1781: Zong Massacre

During the Zong Massacre, a ship captain ordered that 54 enslaved Africans be thrown overboard and killed.

Oberlin Rescuers | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 13, 1858: Oberlin Wellington Rescue

Eighteen-year-old John Price was arrested by a federal marshal in Oberlin, Ohio under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

U.S. Constitution | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 17, 1787: U.S. Constitution Signed

The U.S. Constitution was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sept. 18, 1850: Fugitive Slave Act Passed

The U.S. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World manuscript cover.

Sept. 28, 1829: An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World

David Walker published An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, one of the most important documents of the 19th century.

William Whipper. Published in The Underground Railroad by William Still, Philadelphia, 1879.

Sept. 16, 1837: Abolitionist William Whipper Advocated Non-Violence

William Whipper published “An Address on Non-Resistance to Offensive Aggression.”

Jerry Rescue Monument in Syracuse, New York.

Oct. 1, 1851: The Jerry Rescue

Abolitionists freed a man captured under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 in Syracuse, New York.

Close up of book cover for Clarence Lusane's The Black History of the White House.

Oct. 13, 1792: White House Cornerstone Laid

The White House cornerstone was laid. Among those who constructed the building were African Americans, both free and enslaved.

Nov. 7, 1841: The Creole Mutiny

Madison Washington and eighteen other enslaved people rebelled onboard the Creole, a ship involved in the U.S. slave trade.

Dec. 2, 1859: John Brown Executed

Abolitionist John Brown was executed by the state of Virginia for leading the infamous Harpers Ferry Raid.

“Mrs. Francis E. W. Harper,” portrait with Frances Harper’s name misspelled, taken from page 748 in The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters… printed by Porter & Coates (Philadelphia, 1872).

Nov. 25, 1859: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Writes to John Brown in Prison

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a Black abolitionist and writer, wrote to John Brown as he awaited his execution.

Slave pension broadside | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 28, 1898: First National Convention of the Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association

The Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association was founded with a dual mission to organize mutual aid for its members and to pass federal pension legislation that would compensate every formerly enslaved person.

The North Star (News Clipping) | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 3, 1847: North Star Newspaper Launched

Frederick Douglass and Martin Delany launched the abolitionist North Star newspaper.

Dec. 6, 1865: 13th Amendment Ratified

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially ended the institution of slavery.

The Stono Rebellion Marker (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 9, 1739: The Stono Rebellion

Uprising by enslaved people in South Carolina.

Aug. 21, 1831: Nat Turner Launches Rebellion

Nathaniel Turner launched one of the most historic revolts to end enslavement.

Teaching a People’s History of Abolition and the Civil War

Teaching Guide. Edited by Adam Sanchez. 2019. Rethinking Schools. 181 pages.
Students will discover the real abolition story, one about some of the most significant grassroots social movements in U.S. history.

Aug. 15 – 22, 1829: The Cincinnati Riots

White mobs in Cincinnati, Ohio, rioted for a week, assaulting the city’s Black residents and destroying their property .

The Women Who Caught the Babies: A Story of African American Midwives

Picture book. By Eloise Greenfield. Illustrated by Daniel Minter. 2019. 32 pages.
This unique picture book begins with historical background on the work of midwives and then switches to poetry to tell vignettes from lives of midwives during slavery, emancipation, and today.

Theme: Slavery and Resistance

Nov. 7, 1837: Elijah Parish Lovejoy Murdered

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

Nov. 29, 1781: Zong Massacre

Sept. 13, 1858: Oberlin Wellington Rescue

Sept. 18, 1850: Fugitive Slave Act Passed

Sept. 28, 1829: An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World

Sept. 16, 1837: Abolitionist William Whipper Advocated Non-Violence

Oct. 1, 1851: The Jerry Rescue

Oct. 13, 1792: White House Cornerstone Laid

Nov. 7, 1841: The Creole Mutiny

Dec. 2, 1859: John Brown Executed

Nov. 25, 1859: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Writes to John Brown in Prison

Nov. 28, 1898: First National Convention of the Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association

Dec. 3, 1847: North Star Newspaper Launched

Dec. 6, 1865: 13th Amendment Ratified

Sept. 9, 1739: The Stono Rebellion

Aug. 21, 1831: Nat Turner Launches Rebellion

Teaching a People’s History of Abolition and the Civil War

Aug. 15 – 22, 1829: The Cincinnati Riots

The Women Who Caught the Babies: A Story of African American Midwives

Who Fought to End Slavery? Meet the Abolitionists

Nov. 21, 1842: George Latimer Freed In Boston

Nov. 20, 1835: New York Committee of Vigilance Founded

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

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