Museum - Education
Special Topic Programs
Escape to Freedom - The Underground Railroad in Michigan
Teacher Resources
This page is dedicated to providing teachers with links to online resources and information with regard to the underground railroad in Michigan.Contact Information
Museum Educator
269) 782-1334
museum@swmich.edu
Timeline of Events Affecting Slavery and the Underground Railroad
| 1776 | Words describing the slave trade as “a cruel war against human nature” are removed from a draft of the Declaration of Independence. |
| 1787 | Northwest Ordinance restricts slavery in territory northwest of the Ohio River. The Ordinance provides for return of slaves to their masters, and also allows fugitives to be turned over to persons claiming a right to their labor. The U.S. Constitution states that the slave identity does not change from state to state. An escapee must be returned to his owner if found. |
| 1793 | Fugitive Slave Law called for the return of bonded and indentured runaways, and also threatened the protection of freed African Americans. |
| 1820 | The Missouri Compromise prohibits slavery in some states west of the Mississippi River. |
| 1824 | Indiana passes a personal liberty law that contradicts The Northwest Ordinance. The law does however provide a jury trial for fugitives. |
| 1827 | A Michigan act requires blacks to pay a $500 bond to remain in the state. |
| 1849 | Kentucky slaveholders sue seven Quakers from Cass County. |
| 1850 | Fugitive Slave Act allows federal court-appointed commissioners to judge slave cases. Persons found guilty of encouraging fugitives may be fined and imprisoned. (See document below.) |
| 1854 | Kansas-Nebraska Act sets aside the Missouri Compromise. The new act will always admit one slave state and one free state to the Union at the same time. |
| 1855 | Michigan State Senator Erastus Hussey introduces the Michigan Personal Freedoms Acts 162 and 163, which restrict anyone claiming ownership of African Americans living in Michigan. |
| 1857 | In the Dred Scott decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that black people could not be citizens and that Congress had no power to outlaw slavery in any territory. |
| 1861-65 | Civil War is fought. |
| 1863 | President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which sets free slaves living in states in rebellion against the Union. |
