Despite the presence of indentured servitude and slavery in colonial America, many Americans enjoyed written guarantees of their rights.

Center for Civic Education

Slavery was present in the thirteen American colonies since at least the early 1600s. Until slavery was abolished in the mid-nineteenth century, almost 12 million Africans were transported against their will to America. Listen to today's podcast to learn more about the foundations of slavery in the US.

Center for Civic Education

Land was plentiful in the thirteen American colonies, but labor was scarce. It was also expensive to sail from Britain to America. This reality created incentives for indentured servitude. Learn more about these colonists in today's episode!

Center for Civic Education

The mostly rural and agricultural southern colonies differed a great deal from both the New England and Middle Colonies. Learn how in today's episode!

Center for Civic Education

America's Middle Colonies included today's states of Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Middle Colonies different in important ways from the New England colonies. Learn about these key differences in today's episode!

Center for Civic Education

The American colonies can be divided into three regions: New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. At the time of American independence, in 1776, the New England colonies were Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Learn more about this group of colonies in today's episode!

Center for Civic Education

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin was a Native American activist, attorney, and advocate of women's right to vote.

Center for Civic Education

After her trial for having voted in an 1872 election, Susan B. Anthony explained to the judge the implications of her conviction: "My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, are all alike ignored. Robbed of the fundamental privilege of citizenship, I am degraded from the status of a citizen to that of a subject." Today, women in Rochester, New York, cover her grave with "I Voted" stickers.

Center for Civic Education

In 1848, about 300 activists met in Seneca Falls, New York, for the first convention in the United States devoted to women's rights. They discussed Elizabeth Cady Stanton's proposed Declaration of Sentiments, which mirrored the language of the Declaration of Independence.

Center for Civic Education

Margaretta, Harriet, and Sarah Forten were three powerful African American campaigners for the abolition and women's rights movements. Harriet and Sarah married members of another prominent abolitionist family, the Purvises. Harriet and her husband Robert were involved in the Underground Railroad, and their home served as a refuge for people who had escaped slavery and as a meeting place for abolitionists.

Center for Civic Education