Orion Griffin: Today in history: D.C. abolishes the slave trade

Sep. 20—On September 20, 1850, the District of Columbia abolished the slave trade, making it illegal to buy and sell slaves in the nation's capital. Although it outlawed the trade, slavery was still legal and practiced in D.C.

There were a number of different forces that pushed D.C. to outlaw the trade within the district. Events such as the Snow Riot in 1835, where a riot and lynch mob of white men destroyed Black-owned businesses in anger of having to compete alongside them in the same job market. The mobs only stopped when President Andrew Jackson sent U.S. Marines to restore order.

Other forces included Nat Turner's Rebellion, where a group of enslaved Virginians, led by Nat Turner, killed between 55 to 65 white people in the nation's most significant slave rebellion. There was also the repeal of the "Gag Rule" in 1844, which opened the House floor to discussions of slavery. The rule had tabled all discussions of slavery when is passed in 1836, as the topic became more and more controversial, with more northern abolitionists calling for the outlaw of the practice, with southern members of Congress becoming more adamant in their defenses of slavery.

With such a heavy push to abolish slavery from abolitionists from Massachusetts and Vermont, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850.

The Compromise of 1850 abolished the slave trade within D.C., admitted California into the Union as a free state and provided the territories of Utah and New Mexico with a government. Unfortunately, included into the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Act, which required escaped slaves to be returned to owners, even if they were in a free state. It also made the federal government responsible for the capture and return of any escaped slaves. Although the slave act was incredibly unpopular with northern states, the act was included to prevent the dissolution of the Union.

Of course, the Union dissolved and the Civil War broke out 11 years later, in 1861. In the same year, slavery was abolished in D.C. after Lincoln signed legislation, freeing 3,000 Black men, women and children. The total abolition of slavery would not come until the end of the war in 1865, with the introduction of the Thirteenth Amendment, that abolished slavery nationwide.

Reach Orion Griffin @ 803-768-3122 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.