The statue of Abraham Lincoln in Capitol Hill’s Lincoln Park. Photo by Kelly Nigro

It was on this day in 1862 that President Abraham Lincoln freed 3,100 slaves in D.C. with the declaration of the Compensated Emancipation Act. The move came nine months before slaves were freed throughout the nation, and was enabled by the fact that Congress and the president exercised exclusive control over the city. The document read as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons held to service or labor within the District of Columbia by reason of African descent are hereby discharged and freed of and from all claim to such service or labor; and from and after the passage of this act neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party shall be duly convicted, shall hereafter exist in said District.

After the passage of the law, a three-person commission was established to decide on compensation for former slave owners in D.C.; all told, $1 million was paid out to them.

It wasn’t until 2005 that D.C. made Emancipation Day an official holiday, and today the city will officially observe the day with a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue starting at 11 a.m., a concert at Freedom Plaza at 4:00 p.m. and fireworks at 8:30 p.m.