On the assumption that slavery was a state rather than national institution, antislavery advocates at first anticipated that ... 1865, to abolish slavery by constitutional amendment.

In 1780, Pennsylvania became the first state after the Revolution to abolish slavery by legislative enactment. "An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery" applied to black and mulatto children ...

In 1777, Vermont was the first U.S. territory to ban slavery, and the state of Pennsylvania followed suit in 1780. By 1804, Northern states had voted to abolish slavery within their borders.

(KNWA/KFTA) — An amendment recently filed ahead of the Arkansas legislative session seeks to fully abolish slavery in the Natural State ... has been read a first and second time.