Antebellum cotton plantations in the U.S. South (1793–1865)

1. Whitney patents the cotton gin

   Mar 14, 1794Labels: Eli Whitney, Cotton gin

   • Natl Archives

2. Congress restricts U.S. participation in slave trading

   Mar 22, 1794Labels: U S, Slave Trade

   • Congress gov
   • Encyclopedia

3. Louisiana Purchase opens vast cotton-growing lands

   Apr 30, 1803Labels: Louisiana Purchase, U S

   • Natl Archives

4. U.S. bans transatlantic slave imports

   Jan 1, 1808Labels: Importation Ban, U S

   • Congress gov
   • CBP Timeline

5. Missouri Compromise addresses slavery’s westward spread

   Mar 6, 1820Labels: Missouri Compromise, James Monroe

   • US Census

6. Indian Removal Act accelerates plantation expansion

   May 28, 1830Labels: Indian Removal, Andrew Jackson

   • Britannica

7. Choctaw land cession under Dancing Rabbit Creek treaty

   Feb 24, 1831Labels: Dancing Rabbit, Choctaw Nation

   • Treaty Info

8. Financial panic disrupts cotton credit and prices

   May 10, 1837Labels: Panic of, New York

   • Panic 1837

9. Fugitive Slave Act strengthens slaveholders’ federal power

   Sep 18, 1850Labels: Fugitive Slave, Compromise of

   • Fugitive Act

10. Kansas–Nebraska Act repeals Missouri Compromise limits

    May 30, 1854Labels: Kansas Nebraska, Popular sovereignty

    • Natl Archives
    • US Senate

11. Dred Scott decision favors slaveholders’ territorial claims

    Mar 6, 1857Labels: Dred Scott, U S

    • AP History

12. South Carolina secedes amid slavery and cotton politics

    Dec 20, 1860Labels: South Carolina, Secession

    • SC Encyl

13. Fort Sumter bombardment begins the Civil War

    Apr 12, 1861Labels: Fort Sumter, Civil War

    • Britannica

14. Second Confiscation Act targets slavery supporting rebellion

    Jul 17, 1862Labels: Second Confiscation, Congress

    • Britannica

15. Emancipation Proclamation redefines war aims

    Jan 1, 1863Labels: Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln

    • Britannica

16. Lee surrenders at Appomattox as Confederacy collapses

    Apr 9, 1865Labels: Appomattox, Robert E

    • NPS

17. Thirteenth Amendment ratified, ending legal slavery

    Dec 6, 1865Labels: Thirteenth Amendment, U S

    • Natl Archives