The Slave Trade was Banned in 1808

In light of confusion about Juneteenth, I wondered when slavery was really abolished.

The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves (also called the Slave Importation Act) was passed by Congress on March 2, 1807, and signed by President Thomas Jefferson.

Effective date: It took effect on January 1, 1808 — the earliest date allowed by the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9, which barred Congress from prohibiting the "Migration or Importation" of persons before 1808).

Britain passed its own Slave Trade Act in 1807 as well.

It still took decades of dispute and a Civil War to decide what to do with the slaves. And a few slaves were smuggled in, after the ban.