1807: Abolition of the slave trade

In 1807, Congress banned the transatlantic slave trade with the Act to prohibit enslaved people’s
importation. The federal government abolished slavery, a cornerstone of American society for
decades, for the first time. Thus, this event changed US human rights history. Abolitionists,
who believed slavery was immoral and unlawful, led the decadeslong effort that ended the
slave trade. The 1807 Act Prohibiting the Import of Slaves paved the path for the abolition of
slavery in the US

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