The following are short descriptions of major events which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
On Friday, August 21, 1863, the Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill’s Raid, took place. It was a battle between the Free Staters of Lawrence and the supporters of slavery living in Missouri. The result of this bloody confrontation was the death of about 190 … Read MoreThe Lawrence Massacre: Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, Kansas (1863)
The Compromise of 1850, enacted in September of that year, was a failed attempt to diffuse a tense political situation between free and slave states that had emerged after the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). As a result of Mexico’s defeat, that nation ceded a vast territory … Read MoreThe Compromise of 1850
Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent clashes between supporters and opponents of slavery over control of the new territory of Kansas. It is also known as “Bloody Kansas” and the Border War. The conflict intensified the ongoing debate over the future of slavery in … Read MoreBleeding Kansas (1854-1861)
By the end of the Civil War, African Americans made up nearly half of the population of Florida. As in other Southern states, most Blacks in Florida before the Civil War were enslaved people and none had the right to vote. The passage of the … Read MoreThe Florida Poll Tax (1889-1941)
Congressman John Conyers, a Black Democratic U.S. representative from Michigan, introduced the first legislation to establish the holiday on April 8, 1968, four days after Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. However, the bill honoring the life and work of the civil and … Read MoreEstablishing MLK Holiday (1983)
The Cicero Riot of 1951 occurred from July 11-12, 1951, when a mob of approximately 4,000 whites attacked an apartment building an African American family had recently moved into in Cicero, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. The events leading up to the riot began in June … Read MoreThe Cicero Riot of 1951
Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 was the last major uprising of enslaved blacks and white indentured servants in Colonial Virginia. One consequence of the failed rebellion was the intensification of African slavery and the social separation of blacks and whites in Virginia. The origins of Bacon’s … Read MoreBacon’s Rebellion (1676)
The Gloucester County Conspiracy also known as the Servant’s Plot or Birkenhead’s Rebellion, took place in Virginia in 1663. The plan involved a rebellion of African, English, Irish, and Indian indentured servants and slaves plotting against authorities in Gloucester County, Virginia. On September 1, 1663, … Read MoreGloucester County Conspiracy (1663)
San Miguel de Gualdape is a former Spanish colony founded in 1526 by Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon. It was the third settlement in North America north of Mexico. In the early 1500s, Spaniards were conducting expeditions to the area now known as South Carolina and … Read MoreSan Miguel de Gualdape Slave Rebellion (1526)
The Jaybird-Woodpecker War was a conflict between two political factions in Fort Bend County, Texas. The origin of the conflict can be traced back to Reconstruction when African Americans, who comprised 80% of the population in the county, dominated politics. That domination was reflected in … Read MoreThe Jaybird-Woodpecker War (1888-1889)
