Freedmen's Bank - Washington, DC

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: private
Start Date: December 19, 1898
Location: Washington, District of Columbia (38.895, -77.036)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 4c9ea19d

Response Measures

None

Description

Article (Dec 19, 1898) reports Congress passed a bill authorizing distribution of the assets of the Freedmen's Bank — indicating the institution was closed and in receivership with assets being distributed. The article does not describe an on-site run or a suspension day explicitly, but the asset distribution implies permanent closure/receivership; I therefore classify as suspension_closure (closure/receivership) and include a receivership/closure event. Freedmen's Bank is historically the Freedmen's Savings and Trust Company, hence 'trust'.

Events (2)

1. December 19, 1898 Receivership

Newspaper Excerpt: Bills were also passed under the suspension of the rules to authorize the distribution of the assets of the Freedmen's bank; ... (Washington, Dec. 19.)
Source: newspapers

2. * Other

Newspaper Excerpt: Authorizing the distribution of the assets of the Freedmen's bank (legislative action indicating winding up/asset distribution).
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. December 20, 1898 The Salt Lake Herald Salt Lake City, UT

Article from The Salt Lake Herald, December 20, 1898

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Article Text

AN UNKNOWN LIAR. Bailey Makes a Senatorial Statement In the House. Washington, Dec. 19.-This was suspension day in the house, and several bills were passed, the most important of which was the bill appropriating $350,000 for the Philadelphia exposition of 1899. The vote was exceedingly close. It had but two votes more than the necessary two-thirds. Bills were also passed under the suspension of the rules to authorize the distribution of the assets of the Freedmen's bank; to enlarge the scope of the fish commission to include game birds; for the relief of the Fourth mounted Arkansas infantry, and for the relief of John W. Lewis of Oregon. Mr. Bailey of Texas introduced a resolution in open house, directing the judiciary committee to investigate and report on the question as to whether the members of the house who had accepted commissions in the army had forfeited their seats in the house. He made the resolution the text for some remarks, in the course of which he took occasion to bitterly denounce a newspaper statement to the effect that in his attitude on this question he had been made a catspaw by prominent Republicans in the house. He denounced the Republican who had instigated the statement as an infamous liar, and challenged him to father it. There was no reply to Mr. Bailey's statement, and the resolutions were referred to the committee on rules. Mr. Dingley, from the committee on ways and means, offered the resolution for a holiday recess, from Wednesday, Dec. 21, to Wednesday, Jan. 4, and it was adopted without division.