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  3. January
  4. 1
  5. Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves

Events on January 1 in history

Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
1808Jan, 1

The United States bans the importation of slaves.

The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 (2 Stat. 426, enacted March 2, 1807) is a United States federal law that provided that no new slaves were permitted to be imported into the United States. It took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the United States Constitution.

This legislation was promoted by President Thomas Jefferson, who called for its enactment in his 1806 State of the Union Address. He and others had promoted the idea since the 1770s. It reflected the force of the general trend toward abolishing the international slave trade which Virginia, followed by all the other states, had prohibited or restricted since then. South Carolina, however, had reopened its trade. Congress first regulated against the trade in the Slave Trade Act of 1794. The 1794 Act ended the legality of American ships participating in the trade. The 1807 law did not change that—it made all importation from abroad, even on foreign ships, a federal crime.

The domestic slave trade within the U.S. was not affected by the 1807 law. Indeed, with the legal supply of imported slaves terminated, the domestic trade increased in importance. In addition, some smuggling of slaves persisted.

References

  • Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves

Choose Another Date

Events on 1808

  • 22Jan

    Invasion of Portugal (1807)

    The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army's invasion of Portugal two months earlier.
  • 6Apr

    American Fur Company

    John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America's first millionaire.
  • 8Apr

    Pope Pius VII

    The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
  • 3May

    Sveaborg

    Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia.
  • 6Jun

    Joseph Bonaparte

    Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.

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