The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, for example, was passed amidst great controversy, and in order to placate the Irish.

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In the District of Columbia, it was Emancipation Day, which commemorates the signing by Abraham Lincoln of the Compensated Emancipation Act on April 16, 1862.

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Emancipation Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act by President Lincoln in 1862, which freed the slaves in the District of Columbia.

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