DC Emancipation Day, brought to you by the Republican Party

A guest column from historian Michael Zak:

DC Emancipation Day, brought to you by the Republican Party

Yesterday, I attended a 150th anniversary ceremony in honor of the DC Emancipation Act.  The event was held at Abraham Lincoln's summer cottage.

The quartet Just Righteous inspired with A Change Is Gonna Come and other classic songs.  Frank Williams discussed President Lincoln's views on the DC Emancipation Act.  Harold Holzer spoke about media reaction. Edna Greene Medford recounted the city's response to the law.

While the speakers were informative, all three over-emphasized Lincoln's role and managed to avoid mentioning an important political context.  So, in the Q&A, I informed the audience of these crucial facts:

The DC Emancipation Act was written by a Republican Senator, Henry Wilson.

Republicans voted unanimously for the DC Emancipation Act

Democrats voted unanimously against the DC Emancipation Act

One of the 3,100 slaves liberated by the GOP made the statute "Freedom" which stands atop the U.S. Capitol dome.

In his closing remarks, Mayor Vincent Gray said that just as slaves back then were held in bondage, city residents today are also "held in bondage" because DC is not a state.  Yes, that's what he said -- trivializing the horrors of slavery in order to make a political point.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP, cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision.  He is also the author of the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.  His Grand Old Partisan website celebrates more than fifteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.grandoldpartisan.com and @Michael_Zak for more information.