Ambiguous beginnings, 1787-1801 -- The many meanings of freedom, 1800-1803 -- "A state for white men," 1803-1830 -- The battle over the color line, 1830-1839 -- The struggle to abolish the color line, 1840-1849 -- Enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act, 1803-1850 -- The fugitive slave crisis in the 1850s -- The limits of freedom.
