Norton Tells D.C.’s Abolition Story at Capitol Commemoration of 150th Anniversary of 13th Amendment’s Ratification

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today was one of the six House Members, along with House and Senate leadership, selected to offer readings at the Capitol Visitor Center's Emancipation Hall to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States. In her reading, Norton told the story of the District of Columbia's own journey to emancipation. Norton did not miss the opportunity to alter the prepared transcript ever so slightly to highlight the District's struggle for statehood.

A transcript of Norton's remarks is below. Norton's remarks can be viewed here.

"While the District of Columbia was not a state—and still is not the state it strives to be—and therefore was not involved in the ratification process, the District has its own story of abolition.

"During the Civil War, President Lincoln encouraged southern states to abolish slavery and offered monetary reimbursement to slaveholders if they complied. None agreed.

"During the Civil War, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, a vocal abolitionist, asked President Lincoln: ‘Do you know who is, at this moment, the largest slaveholder in the United States?' Sumner informed Lincoln that he was the largest slaveholder because the President ‘holds all the slaves in the District of Columbia.'

"In December 1861, Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson introduced a bill to end slavery in the District of Columbia. Despite considerable opposition from slaveholding Congressmen, the bill passed. President Lincoln signed the legislation on April 16, 1862, almost a year before the Emancipation Proclamation, thus ending slavery in the District of Columbia."