AOC Falsely Claims D.C. Was The First U.S. Territory To Abolish Slavery in Tweet

Democrat lawmaker and social media sensation AOC has yet to delete a tweet that ameks the false claim that “DC was the 1st territory in the United States to free the enslaved.”

According to DailyCaller, Washington D.C. was actually one of the LAST territories in the U.S. to abolish slavery.

Vermont was the first U.S. territory to abolish slavery in 1777, and Pennsylvania was the first state to officially end the practice in 1780.

DailyCaller reports Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a false claim involving Washington D.C. and slavery while making the case that the District of Columbia should be a state.

The freshman congresswoman tweeted Thursday that D.C. was the first territory to “free the enslaved,” which is not true.

“DC was the 1st territory in the United States to free the enslaved,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “It’s where Black Americans fled the tyranny of slavery & towards greater freedom, to DC. Yet today it’s where 2nd class citizenship reigns, and the right to vote is denied.”

DC was the 1st territory in the United States to free the enslaved.

It’s where Black Americans fled the tyranny of slavery & towards greater freedom, to DC. Yet today it’s where 2nd class citizenship reigns, and the right to vote is denied.

It’s time to recognize DC statehood. https://t.co/AkfaRHw38C

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 19, 2019

In reality, Vermont became the first U.S. territory to abolish slavery in 1777, and Pennsylvania was the first state to officially end the practice in 1780. Washington D.C. was not officially a territory until 1790.

Washington D.C. was actually one of the last territories in the U.S. to abolish slavery. The slave trade ended in D.C. in 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850, and it officially became illegal to own slaves in the district in 1862 after the passage of the D.C. Emancipation Act.

UPDATE:

AOC has updated her tweet with a follow up:

The right is pushing back on this. To clarify in 280 chars, DC was the first area where enslaved people were freed by the US government.

It was enacted by the Compensation Emancipation Act of 1862

The right is pushing back on this. To clarify in 280 chars, DC was the first area where enslaved people were freed by the US government.

It was enacted by the Compensation Emancipation Act of 1862. https://t.co/plbSr7WCkw /2

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 20, 2019