Ah so glad you’ve arrived at this article given the times that we are in and considering this wasn’t all that long ago that Juneteenth even became a thing. Juneteenth for those that don’t know commemorates the end essentially of slavery, the day when the last known slave on American soil was freed from their white captors.
Important part of the history of Juneteenth:
Juneteenth came after the Emancipation Proclamation that helped free the majority of other slaves in other parts of the United States. But because states like Texas were a fairly remote area, enforcement of the proclamation was fairly lax and rather slow at the time.
In Texas particularly, Juneteenth focused on the reading(s) of the orders as read by General Gordon Granger. Granger on 19 June 1865 famously read a set of orders that simultaneously spurred the release of all known slaves in the area.
How long did it take after the Emancipation Proclamation for this to happen?
According to historians, it took roughly 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation for the remaining slaves in remote areas like Texas to be fully freed.
Did it actually free all slaves at the time? What happened?
This is where it gets confusing. At the time in which the Emancipation Proclamation was actually signed in 1862 (it later became a thing in 1863) it didn’t actually apply to slaves held in Union States. As odd as that might seem, the U.S was still staunchly divided into the confederacy and the non-confederate states at that time. The ruling essentially would not apply to union-held states until the surrender of General Robert E. Lee occurred and later the 13th Amendment of the U.S Constitution was ratified.
Pop Quiz: What famous confederate douchebag once said this about black people?
“upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition”
Answer: Alexander H. Stephens, the Confederacy ‘s Vice President.
For more on Juneteenth we’ll be covering this day as it happens sharing information and historical pieces people should know about.
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