19th century

===Abolition and the American Civil War===
{{main|Abolitionism|American Civil War}}
[[File:Wilberforce john rising.jpg|thumb|[[William Wilberforce]] (1759–1833), politician and philanthropist who was a leader of the movement to [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolish the slave trade]].]]

The [[abolitionism]] movement achieved success in the 19th century. The [[Atlantic slave trade]] was abolished in the United States in 1808, and by the end of the century, almost every government had banned slavery. The [[Slavery Abolition Act]] of 1833 banned slavery throughout the [[British Empire]], and the [[Lei Áurea]] abolished slavery in Brazil in 1888.

[[Abolitionism in the United States]] continued until the end of the [[American Civil War]]. [[Frederick Douglass]] and [[Harriet Tubman]] were two of many American abolitionists who helped win the fight against slavery. Douglass was an articulate orator and incisive antislavery writer, while Tubman worked with a network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the [[Underground Railroad]].

The American Civil War took place from 1861 to 1865. Eleven [[Southern United States|southern states]] seceded from the [[United States]], largely over concerns related to slavery. In 1863, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] issued the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. Lincoln issued a preliminary<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation|title=The Emancipation Proclamation|date=October 6, 2015|website=National Archives|access-date=February 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206210236/https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation|archive-date=February 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> on September 22, 1862, warning that in all states still in rebellion ([[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]) on January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves "then, thenceforward, and forever free."<ref>McPherson, J. M. (2014). "Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment", in E. Foner and J. A. Garraty (eds.), ''The Reader's Companion to American History''. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. [http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/rcah/emancipation_proclamation_and_thirteenth_amendment/0] Retrieved from {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106000538/https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/rcah/emancipation_proclamation_and_thirteenth_amendment/0|date=2018-11-06}}</ref> He did so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html|title=Transcript of the Proclamation|date=October 6, 2015|website=National Archives}}</ref> The [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] to the Constitution,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/13th-amendment|title=13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery|date=January 27, 2016|website=National Archives|access-date=February 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216131544/https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/13th-amendment|archive-date=February 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the entire country.

Five days after [[Robert E. Lee]] surrendered at [[Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia]], [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln was assassinated]] by actor and [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] sympathiser [[John Wilkes Booth]].