Which 1808 law ended the legal importation of enslaved people into the United States?

The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves ended the legal importation of enslaved people into the United States in 1808.

Congress passed the act in 1807, and it took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the Constitution. Article I, Section 9 had barred Congress from prohibiting the international slave trade before 1808. The law made it illegal to bring enslaved people into the United States from abroad, although it did not end slavery within the country.

The act also did not stop the domestic slave trade, illegal smuggling, or the enslavement of people already held in bondage. Enforcement was difficult, and some traders continued importing captives illegally. The United States Navy later conducted anti-slave-trade patrols, but the broader institution of slavery remained legal in much of the country until the Civil War.

The law is therefore distinct from the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the Thirteenth Amendment of 1865. Understanding those separate milestones gives America250 audiences a more accurate view of the nation’s complicated history of liberty and slavery.