Emancipation in the Federal City

EMANCIPATION IN THE FEDERAL CITY Michael J. Kurtz Despite the vast amount of research that has gone into the study of slavery and the Civil War, emancipation in the District of Columbia remains a relatively obscure event. From the late 1820's until 1862 there was a three-cornered struggle in Washington over the continuation of slavery in the city. This was a reflection of the growing national struggle between abolitionists, political moderates, and pro-slavery advocates which eventually divided the country. Washington, because of its symbolic importance, was often the focal point of this conflict. A close study of events there, especially during the Civil War, reveals the social and political problems that not only divided Northern and border states, but also caused severe tensions within the local community. Implementation of emancipation in Washington by a three-man board of commissioners clearly showed that the institution of slavery would not survive the stresses of the war. This process involved certain principles, such as compensation and colonization, which were not associated with the enactment of emancipation on the national scene. Since the founding of the Federal City there had been constant dissent in various sectors of Northern opinion over the propriety of having the institution of slavery so prominently displayed in the capital of the Republic. Abolitionists and their allies in Congress, such as John Quincy Adams, throughout the 1830's and 1840's fought for the right to present petitions on the slavery matter, especially in regard to the District of Columbia. Finally, in the great slavery debates of 1850, the anti-slavery forces were able to effectively abolish the slave trade in Washington. But the continued existence of slavery in the District of Columbia still rankled Northern abolitionists, and they fervently wished to hasten its end. Pro-slavery advocates, led by men such as John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis, bitterly opposed the abolitionists. Using constitutional, racial, and economic arguments, the Southern leaders insisted not only on the maintenance of the status-quo in regard to slavery, but also its extension into new territories. They vehemently defended slavery in Washington, knowing that defeat by the abolitionists there could lead to a full-scale assault on the institution in the South itself. Southern ?50 EMANCIPATION251 Congressmen only reluctantly accepted the end of the slave trade in the District in 1850 in return for a strong Fugitive Slave Act. Political moderates, such as Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln, while not favorably disposed to the institution of slavery, were opposed on pragmatic grounds to the immediate emancipation program of the more radical abolitionists. Lincoln stated his viewpoint succinctly in December, 1848, when he said he did not believe "in the expediency of abolishing slavery in the District without compensation to slave owners." Thus, in January, 1849, he proposed a program for gradual emancipation in Washington in concurrence with compensation for slave owners. Lincoln returned to the topic of slavery in the nation's capital in a debate at Quincy, Illinois on October 19, 1858, with Stephen A. Douglas, his opponent for a United States Senate seat. The points Lincoln made in this debate were to guide his efforts in 1862, and partially provide the context in which the District Emancipation Act developed. Lincoln declared that while Congress had the right under the Constitution to abolish slavery in the District, it should not do so unless the nation agreed to gradual emancipation and compensation for slave owners.1 Lincoln realized that the issue of slavery in Washington was viewed by all sides as indicative of how the issue was going to be resolved on the national level. He strongly believed that the sensitive task of ending slavery required a gradual time schedule and compensation to foster the necessary spirit of cooperation. As President, Lincoln was primarily concerned with the restoration of the Union, and he directed his initial policies and actions toward attaining that goal. The future of slavery was not only the chief obstacle to this goal, but also potentially Lincoln's best weapon. This issue was dramatized when "An Act for the Release of Certain Persons Held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia by Reason of African Descent...