Emancipation Day
- What
- Emancipation Day
- When
- 4/16/2021
Emancipation day on April 16 is a public holiday in Washington DC. It commemorates the day when, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, which effectively abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. Slavery in other parts of the United States only came to an end in 1865.
It is a holiday in Washington DC, and as such, it is a day off for most people, as businesses and schools close for the day.