Juneteenth Explained

foreign 2021 Congress passed a resolution for a new federal holiday Juneteenth a portmanteau or a combination of two words June and 19th it marks the anniversary of the last enslaved people being freed in the United States but its Origins are a little more complicated than that the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 proved to be a turning point for the country although slavery had largely been abolished in the northern states over the previous Century in the South many believed slavery was vital to the success of the economy fearing Lincoln had planned to outlaw slavery altogether seven U.S states voted to secede from the Union a month after Lincoln had been inaugurated the union and the newly formed Confederacy were at War this led Lincoln to deliver an ultimatum either the Breakaway States returned to the union or all of their enslaved people would be declared free but the ultimatum didn't work most Rebel States continued to defy Lincoln so he issued an executive order called The Emancipation Proclamation granting freedom to all enslaved people in Confederate territory but in Texas there were not enough union troops to enforce the proclamation and news of their freedom took two years to reach the enslaved population in April 1865 the bloody war finally ended with confederate surrender three months later on June 19th U.S major general Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston Bay Texas with more than 2 000 men to announce general order number three enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation and freeing the last of the enslaved by December slavery had been abolished across the United States with the passing of the 13th Amendment Juneteenth was celebrated in Texas the following year and by many black communities ever since it was finally made a national holiday by President Joe Biden in 2021 also known as Freedom Day and emancipation day Juneteenth honors the resilience of black Americans and the historic achievement of abolition itself why do you think celebrating Juneteenth is important to our country [Music]

Channel: Untold History

Views: 570

Keywords: Confederate Army, Union Army, Opression, Enslaved People, Black History, African American, General Order No. 3, Texas, Galveston Bay, US General Gordon Granger, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Agriculture, Industry, Economy, Racism, Racial Equality, Liberty, Freedom, US Civil War, The Confederate States of America, USA, Abraham Lincoln, Executive Order, The Emancipation Proclamation, Slavery, Joe Biden, US President, Federal Holiday, Juneteenth

Id: z_YkOLguXps

Length: 2min 31sec (151 seconds)

Published: Fri May 12 2023