Discrimination

  • Nat Turner Rebellion

    Nat Turner's Rebellion was a revolt led by Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher, in August 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia. The rebellion killed about 55 white people before being suppressed within a few days, but Turner remained at large for two months. The uprising intensified widespread fear of future revolts, leading to increased repression and harsh new laws restricting the rights of Black people in Virginia and North Carolina, despite the event's ultimate failure.
  • Massacre at Mystic

    during the Pequot War, when a force from Connecticut Colony under Captain John Mason and their Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to the Pequot Fort near the Mystic River. They circled the fort and shot anyone who tried to escape it.
  • Dred Scott Decision

    On this day, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its ruling in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford,stating that enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue in federal court, and that Congress lacked the power to ban slavery in the territories.