On This Day in History

This Day in History: Lincoln Signs D.C. Emancipation Act in 1862

April 16, 1862: Lincoln frees enslaved people in D.C. with a bold act of emancipation. Discover the history and impact behind this pivotal moment.

Clay Cane
April 16, 2025

This Feb. 18, 2005 file photo shows the original Emancipation Proclamation on display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington. As New Year's Day approached 150 years ago, all eyes were on President Abraham Lincoln in expectation of what he warned 100 days earlier would be coming _ his final proclamation declaring all slaves in states rebelling against the Union to be "forever free." A tradition began on Dec. 31, 1862, as many black churches held Watch Night services, awaiting word that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation would take effect as the country was in the midst of a bloody Civil War. Later, congregations listened as the president's historic words were read aloud. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the D.C. Emancipation Act, granting immediate freedom to enslaved people in Washington, D.C., and offering up to $300 in compensation to Union-loyal slaveholders.

Lincoln envisioned “compensated emancipation,” a plan where slave owners would be paid and formerly enslaved people would be colonized abroad—to the Caribbean, Latin America, or West Africa. He hoped this would encourage border states to gradually end slavery. Congress even offered federal funds to states adopting abolition, but the plan failed as border state senators rejected it.

Musicians from the Crossland High School marching band, from Prince Georges County, Md., cool off beside a fountain in downtown Washington, during unseasonably hot weather, Tuesday, April 16, 2002. In temperatures more like August than April that will reach 90 degrees, the band marched along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to observe Emancipation Day. On April 16, 1862, President Lincoln signed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, an important step toward full freedom for African Americans. It is a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Before the Act, D.C. was a hub for slave trading, where enslaved people were held in pens or marched in chains through the streets.

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Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane