Browse Items (3 total)

This is an example of one of the 966 petitions filled for compensation following the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, which offered $300 per slave to legal slave owners in the District. These petitions have been transcribed by Civil War…

This is the original Act and translation, which abolished slavery in the District of Columbia drafted by Senator Henry Wilson and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. This item gives you a visual of the bill and a complete translation of the…

This is a short video created by the National Archives which provides information about the what we have been able to learn about the enslaved persons in Washington, DC. Click here for VIDEO.