Compensated Emancipation

Compensated Emancipation refers to a policy or legislative act where slave owners receive financial compensation when their enslaved individuals are freed. This approach was intended to ease the transition from slavery to freedom, recognizing the economic loss to slaveholders while aiming to promote gradual emancipation. One of the most notable examples occurred in the District of Columbia in 1862, where the U.S. government paid slave owners to free their enslaved people, marking a shift towards the broader abolition of slavery during the Civil War. It reflects the complexities of ending slavery within a society intertwined with economic interests.