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Compensated emancipation facts for kids

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Compensated emancipation was a way to end slavery. It meant that a government would pay money to a slave owner. In return, the owner had to set their enslaved people free. This payment was called "compensation."

Sometimes, instead of money, owners could keep the enslaved person working for a certain time. This was called an indenture. It was like a temporary work agreement. This system was seen as a middle step between slavery and complete freedom.

However, many people were not happy with compensated emancipation. Slave owners often felt the money they received was too little. It was usually less than what they could have sold the enslaved person for. Governments and people who didn't own slaves complained about the cost. They felt it was unfair to pay people who had benefited from slavery. Also, the formerly enslaved people received no payment for their years of forced labor.

Historian Eric Foner pointed out that even Haiti, which gained freedom through a violent revolution, later paid a large sum to former slaveholders. This was done to get France to recognize Haiti's independence. No one suggested paying the enslaved people for their hard work. Some people thought paying slave owners was like paying a thief to return stolen goods.

For those who were freed, the indenture system was better than slavery. They could not be moved by force. Their children and families could not be taken away. They also could not be whipped. But they were still not truly free.

How Slavery Ended with Compensation

Compensated emancipation was often part of a bigger plan. This plan usually outlawed slavery completely. Or it set up a way for slavery to slowly end over time. Sometimes, laws were passed first that freed children born to enslaved parents after a certain date. This was called gradual emancipation.

Many European countries used this method for their colonies overseas. The British Empire paid slave owners in its colonies in 1833. France followed in 1848, Denmark in 1849, and the Netherlands in 1863. Most countries in South America and the Caribbean ended slavery this way in the 1850s and 1860s. Brazil started a gradual, compensated plan in 1871. Cuba did the same in 1880.

The United States' Experience

In the United States, each state usually decided its own rules about slavery. Northern states often chose gradual emancipation. During the American Civil War, in November 1861, President Abraham Lincoln tried to pass a law for compensated emancipation in Delaware. Delaware was one of the four slave states that stayed with the Union. But the law was not passed. Lincoln also tried to get a national law passed. However, the Southern states, which had left the Union, ignored these ideas.

Only in the District of Columbia did compensated emancipation happen. The District was directly controlled by the federal government. On April 16, 1862, President Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. This law made slavery illegal in the District. About 900 slaveholders had to free their enslaved people. The government paid owners an average of about $300 for each person. In 1863, similar laws failed in Maryland and Missouri.

Other Nations and Empires

Many other nations and empires also used compensated emancipation:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Emancipación compensada para niños

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