USA Timeline

A brief overview of the American history

slavery:mEET hARRIET tUBMAN

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM

American History

1492

Christopher Columbus discovered America.

16th to 19th century

The Triangular Trade: African people were sent to America where they became slaves. They worked on plantations.

A brief overview

July 4th 1776

The USA became independent. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson.

1861-1865

The Civil War: a conflict between the North and the South of the USA. This war was won by the South and it finally abolished slavery.

1789-1797

The first president of the USA was George Washington.

1865

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the USA. He was assassinated because of his ideas: he wanted to abolish slavery.

1876-1965

The Jim Crow Laws (lois). These laws made segregation legal in the Southern states of the USA.

1954-1968

The Civil Rights Movement: a popular movement to end racial discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist: he fought against racism. He was not violent.

2008 & 2012

Barack Obama was elected president twice. He was the first African American to become president.

Life as a slave

DiscoverHarrietTubman

Life on plantations

A life of suffering

Her death

Her childhood

Escape!

Her involvements

Fast facts

Leading abolitionist and Civil Rights activist

A 7-minute video

She was born in 1821 or 1822 in Maryland, USA.She was one of nine children born to enslaved parents.

Physical violence was a part of daily life for Tubman and her family. The violence she suffered early in life caused permanent physical injuries. Tubman later recounted a particular day when she was lashed five times before breakfast. She carried the scars for the rest of her life.

The Underground Railroad Between 1850 and 1860, Tubman made 19 trips from the South to the North following the network known as the Underground Railroad. She guided more than 300 people, including her parents and several siblings, from slavery to freedom, earning the nickname “Moses” for her leadership.

- She met the abolitionist John Brown who fought against slavery - She remained very active during the Civil War (she worked as a cook, nurse, even a spy!)

Tubman died of pneumonia on March 10, 1913, surrounded by friends and family, at around the age of 93. As Tubman aged, the head injuries sustained early in her life became more painful and disruptive.