U.S. Domestic Slave Trade and the Second Middle Passage (1790–1860)

1. First federal fugitive slave law enacted

   Feb 12, 1793Labels: Fugitive Slave

   • Britannica
   • Congress gov

2. Whitney receives patent for cotton gin

   Mar 14, 1794Labels: Eli Whitney, Cotton Gin

   • PBS
   • Britannica

3. Louisiana Purchase expands slaveholding frontier

   Apr 30, 1803Labels: Louisiana Purchase

   • National Archives
   • Britannica

4. Congress bans transatlantic slave imports

   Mar 2, 1807Labels: Slave Import

   • Congress gov
   • Britannica

5. Missouri Compromise draws a slavery boundary

   Mar 6, 1820Labels: Missouri Compromise

   • National Archives
   • U S Census

6. Franklin & Armfield become leading slave traders

   Jan 1, 1828Labels: Franklin &

   • NPS
   • Smithsonian

7. Indian Removal Act opens land to plantation expansion

   May 28, 1830Labels: Indian Removal

   • Britannica
   • History com

8. Nat Turner’s Rebellion prompts harsher slave controls

   Aug 21, 1831Labels: Nat Turner

   • Britannica
   • NMAAHC

9. Prigg v. Pennsylvania strengthens slave catchers’ claims

   Mar 1, 1842Labels: Prigg v

   • Oyez
   • Britannica

10. Texas annexation widens the slavery expansion debate

    Mar 1, 1845Labels: Texas Annexation

    • Texas Library
    • Britannica

11. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo reopens slavery’s expansion crisis

    Feb 2, 1848Labels: Treaty of

    • National Archives
    • Britannica

12. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 intensifies enforcement nationwide

    Sep 18, 1850Labels: Fugitive Slave

    • Britannica
    • Congress gov

13. Kansas–Nebraska Act repeals Missouri Compromise limits

    May 30, 1854Labels: Kansas Nebraska

    • Britannica
    • U S Senate

14. Dred Scott decision expands slaveholders’ constitutional claims

    Mar 6, 1857Labels: Dred Scott

    • National Archives
    • Oyez