[I forgot to publish this yesterday morning. The celebration occurred April 19, 1866. Sorry]
“Celebration of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia by the colored people, in Washington, April 19, 1866 / sketched by F. Dielman.” – Library of Congress
NY Times April 20, 1866
150 years ago today Washington, D.C. celebrated the April 16, 1862 abolition of slavery in the nation’s capital. Thanks to Google and the University of Tennessee Press we can read a bit of President Johnson’s remarks to the freedmen. The president seemed flattered that the crowd stopped by. The colored population of the United States would soon discover that some politicians considered them “a hobby and a pretence” by which to obtain and maintain political power; other political leaders were the true friends of freedmen and wanted them to “participate in and enjoy the blessings of freedom.” President Johnson didn’t want to appear egotistical but he had done more than anyone else to ensure the abolition of slavery throughout the United States by the ratification of the 13th amendment to the constitution.
Emancipation Day is still celebrated in Washington, D.C.
I don’t know why April 19th was chosen as the celebration date in 1866, although it is a significant day for American liberty. Back in 1775 American patriots started shooting what they saw as the British aggression at the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and in 1861 a crowd in Baltimore contested the movement of what they considered Northern coercers through the streets of their city. Were Union and Liberty really inseparable? It was going to be four years of bloodshed and misery to come to some sort of conclusion to that debate.
