The journey from slavery to freedom was a very long one. How African Americans were able to evolve into regular united states citizens lies in our history. The first African Americans were brought to the colonies in 1619 and by 1960 all of the original 13 colonies had African American slaves. Then, Eli Whitney’s created the cotton gin in 1793 which increased the need for slaves. Eventually, In 1808 Congress banned further importation of African American slaves. However, this did not mean the war against slavery was even close to over. Slavery continued and between the years 1831 to 1861 more than seventy-five thousand slaves were able to make an escape using the historic underground railroad. In 1850 things got worse when congress passed an
