via JuneteenthOhio
What is JUNETEENTH?
Juneteenth, or June 19th, 1865, is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread before this, actual emancipation did not come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3, on June 19th, almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
But Didn’t the Emancipation Proclamation Free Us?
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862, notifying the states in rebellion against the Union that if they did not cease their rebellion and return to the Union by January 1st, 1863, he would declare their slaves forever free. Needless to say, the proclamation was ignored by those states that seceeded from the Union. Furthermore, the proclamation did not apply to those slave-holding states that did not rebel against the Union. As a result, about 800,000 slaves were unaffected by the provisions of the proclamation. It would take a civil war to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to formally outlaw slavery in the United States.