June 19, 1865 was the actual arrival of the news that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The actual signing was Jan 1, 1863. This must have been before E-mail and Cell phones. Ha Ha
There are some celebrations and parades here in South Central Texas.
For some reason, Texas did not know about the Emancipation Proclamation until June 18-19th, 1865 when the Union Army landed at Galveston and read out General Order No. 3.
Thomas, thanks for the link to some of the history on Juneteenth.
I knew some of the history, but it was still interesting reading.
from wiki:
During the US Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863. Although it declared that slaves were to be freed in the Confederate States of America in rebellion against the federal government, it had minimal actual effect.[3] Even after the ending of military hostilities, as a part of the former Confederacy, Texas did not act to comply with the Emancipation Proclamation.
On June 18, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves.[4] On June 19, standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of "General Order No. 3":
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.[5]
That day has since become known as Juneteenth, a name coming from a portmanteau of the word June and the suffix, "teenth", as in "Nineteenth", coined by 1903.[6]
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Dufo: wasn't Gordon Granger your chief pilot?
When I watched the movie 'Lincoln' I became aware that the Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the Confederate States. It was the 13th amendment that freed the slaves forever.
You would think the 13th amendment would be more famous.
Dave,
I completely agree with you. The Emancipation Proclamation was a war powers act that may not have even been legal, and even if it was it probably would have ceased to have effect at the end of the war. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is the really important item.
Other dates are celebrated as the news of the Proclamation spread slowly and unevenly across the nation. August 8th is observed in the Paducah area of Western KY...
All at the cost of 500,000 dead and one third of the nation in ruins. There had to be a better way.