DC Emancipation Act
4/16/1862
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:
Add only page 3 to activity:
Add only page 4 to activity:
Add only page 5 to activity:
Add only page 6 to activity:
On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed this bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Passage of this act came 8 1/2 months before President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. The act brought to a conclusion decades of agitation aimed at ending what antislavery advocates called "the national shame" of slavery in the nation's capital.
The law provided for immediate emancipation, compensation to loyal Unionist masters of up to $300 for each freed slave, voluntary colonization of former slaves to colonies outside the United States, and payments of up to $100 to each person choosing emigration. Over the next nine months the Federal Government granted almost $1 million for the freedom of approximately 3,100 formerly enslaved people.
The District of Columbia Emancipation Act is the only example of compensated emancipation in the United States. Though its three-way approach of immediate emancipation, compensation, and colonization did not serve as a model for the future, it was an early signal of slavery's death.
African Americans in the District greeted emancipation with great jubilation. For many years afterward, Black Washingtonians celebrated Emancipation Day on April 16 with parades and festivals.
The law provided for immediate emancipation, compensation to loyal Unionist masters of up to $300 for each freed slave, voluntary colonization of former slaves to colonies outside the United States, and payments of up to $100 to each person choosing emigration. Over the next nine months the Federal Government granted almost $1 million for the freedom of approximately 3,100 formerly enslaved people.
The District of Columbia Emancipation Act is the only example of compensated emancipation in the United States. Though its three-way approach of immediate emancipation, compensation, and colonization did not serve as a model for the future, it was an early signal of slavery's death.
African Americans in the District greeted emancipation with great jubilation. For many years afterward, Black Washingtonians celebrated Emancipation Day on April 16 with parades and festivals.
Transcript
Rec-16-Ap. Public 50Thirty=Seventh=Congress of the United States of America;
At the second Session,
Begun and held at the city of Washington, on Monday, the second day of
December, one thousand eight hundred and sixtyone
___________________
AN ACT
For the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of
Columbia.
__________________
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled,
That all persons held to service or labor within the District of Columbia by reason
of African descent are hereby discharged and freed of and from all claim to such
service or labor; and from and after the passage of this act neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party shall be duly convicted,
shall hereafter exist in said District. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all
persons loyal to the United States holding claims to service or labor against
persons discharged therefrom by this act may, within ninety days from the passage
thereof, but not thereafter, present to the Commissioners hereinafter mentioned
their respective statements or petitions in writing, verified by oath or affirmation,
setting forth the names, ages, and personal description of such persons, the manner
in which said petitioners acquired such claim, and any facts touching the value
thereof, and declaring his allegiance to the government of the United States; and
that he has not borne arms against the United States during the present rebellion,
nor in any way given aid or comfort thereto: Provided that the oath of the party to
the petition shall not be evidence of the facts therein stated. Sec. 3. And be it
further enacted, That the President of the United States, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall appoint three commissioners, residents of the District
of Columbia, any two of whom shall have power to act, who shall receive the
petitions above mentioned, and who shall investigate and determine the validity
and value of the claims therein presented, as aforesaid, and appraise and apportion,
under the proviso hereto annexed, the value in money of the several claims by
them found to be valid: Provided, however, That the entire sum so appraised and
apportioned shall not exceed in the aggregate an amount equal to three hundred
dollars for each person shown to have been so held by lawful claim:
[page 2]
And provided, further, That no claim shall be allowed for any slave or slaves
brought into said District after the passage of this act, nor for any slave claimed by
any person who has borne arms against the government of the United States in the
present rebellion or in any way given aid or comfort thereto; or which originates in
or by virtue of any transfer heretofore made, or which shall hereafter be made, by
any person who has in any manner aided or sustained the rebellion against the
government of the United States. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That said
commissioners shall within nine months from the passage of this act, make a full
and final report of their proceedings, findings and appraisement, and shall deliver
the same to the Secretary of the Treasury which report shall be deemed and taken
to be conclusive in all respects, except as hereinafter provided; and the Secretary of
the Treasury shall with little exception, cause the amounts so apportioned to said
claims to be paid from the treasury of the United States to the parties found by said
report to be entitled thereto as aforesaid, and the same shall be received in full and
complete compensation: Provided, That in cases where petitions may be filed
presenting conflicting claims or setting up liens, said commissioners shall so
specify in said report, and payment shall not be made according to the award of
said commissioners until a period of sixty days shall have elapsed, during which
time any petitioner claiming an interest in the particular amount a file a bill in
equity in the circuit court of the District of Columbia, making all other claim unto
defendants thereto, setting forth the proceedings in such case before said
commissioners and their action therein, and praying that the party to whom
payment has been awarded may be enjoined from receiving the same; and if said
court shall grant such provisional order, a copy thereof may, on motion of said
complainant, be served upon the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall thereupon
cause the said amount of money to be paid into said court, subject to its orders and
final decree, which payment shall be in full and complete compensation, as in other
cases. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners shall hold their
sessions in the City of Washington, at such place and times as the President of the
United States may direct, of which they shall give due and public notice. They
shall have power to
[page 3]
subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses, and to receive testimony and
enforce its production as in civil cases before courts of justice, without the
exclusion of any witness on account of color; and they may summon before them
the persons making claim to service or labor and examine them under oath; and
they may also, for purposes of identification and appraisement, call before them
the persons so claimed. Said commissioners shall appoint a clerk, who shall keep
files and complete record of all proceedings before them, who shall have power to
administer oaths and affirmations in said proceedings, and who shall issue all
lawful process by them ordered. The marshal of the District of Columbia shall
personally or by deputy attend upon the sessions of said commissioners, and shall
execute the process issued by said clerk. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That
said commissioners shall receive in compensation for their services the sum of two
thousand dollars each to be paid upon the filing of their report, that said clerk shall
receive for his services the sum of two hundred dollars per month; that said
marshal shall receive such fees as are allowed by law for similar services
performed by him in the circuit court of the District of Columbia; that the
Secretary of the Treasury shall cause all other reasonable expenses of said
commission to be audited and allowed and that said compensation, fees, and
expenses shall be paid from the treasury of the United States. Sec. 7. And be it
further enacted, That for the purpose of carrying this act into effect there is hereby
appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum
not exceeding one million of dollars. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That any
person or persons who shall kidnap, or in any manner transport or procure to be
taken out of said District, any person or persons discharged and freed by the
provisions of this act, or any free person or persons with intent to reenslave or sell
such person or persons into slavery, or shall reenslave any said freed persons, the
person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and on
conviction thereof in any court of competent
[page 4]
jurisdiction in said District shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than five
nor more than twenty years. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That within twenty
days, or within such further time as the commissioners herein provided for shall
limit, after the passage of this act, a statement in writing or schedule shall be filed
with the clerk of the circuit court for the District of Columbia by the several
owners or claimants to the services of the persons made free or manumitted by this
act, setting forth the names, ages, sex and particular description of such persons
severally; and the said clerk shall receive and record in a book by him to be
provided and kept for that purpose, the said statements or schedules on receiving
fifty cents each therefor and no claim shall be allowed to any claimant or owner
who shall neglect this requirement. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the
said clerk and his successors in office shall from time to time on demand and on
receiving twentyfive cents therefor prepare, sign and deliver to each person made
free or manumitted by this act a certificate under the seal of said court, setting out
the name, age, and description of such person and stating that such person was
duly manumitted and set free by this act. Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That
the sum of one hundred thousand dollars out of any money in the treasury not
otherwise appropriated is hereby appropriated to be expended under the direction
of the President of the United States, to aid in the colonization and settlement of
such free persons of African descent now residing in said District including those
to be liberated by this act as may desire to emigrate to the Republic of Hayti or
Liberia, or such other country beyond the limits of the United States as the
President may determine: Provided, The expenditure for this purpose shall not
exceed one hundred dollars for each emigrant. Sec. 12. And be it further enacted,
That
[page 5]
all acts of Congress and all laws of the State of Maryland in force in said District,
and all ordinances of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, inconsistent with
the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.
Galusha A. Grow
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Solomon Foot
President of the Senate pro tempore
Approved, April 16, 1862
Abraham Lincoln
[page 6]
I certify that this act did originate in the Senate.
J. W. Forney
Secretary.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
National Archives Identifier: 299814
Full Citation: An Act of April 16, 1862 [For the Release of Certain Persons Held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia],; 4/16/1862; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2013; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/dc-emancipation, March 28, 2025]Activities that use this document
- From Slavery to Juneteenth: Emancipation and Ending Enslavement
Created by the National Archives Education Team
Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
