On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to make “Juneteenth National Independence Day” a federal holiday. Until recently, few Americans had even heard of “Juneteenth,” and for good reason: relative to other events in history, the date does not much matter.
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in rebel states through his Emancipation Proclamation. On December 18, 1865, Congress and the states outlawed slavery throughout the country with the ratification and proclamation of the Thirteenth Amendment. On June 19, 1865 — or “Juneteenth” — a less significant event occurred: General Gordon Granger entered Texas and announced that Lincoln had freed the slaves three years earlier.
.png)
.png)
