On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, two months after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. He announced to the city’s residents that all slaves in Texas were free by the Emancipation Proclamation. Some slaves remained enchained in the border states of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri until the 13th Amendment’s ratification on Dec. 6 of that year, but ratification was a forgone conclusion. The amendment had already passed both houses of Congress, and mourning over Lincoln’s assassination assured assent in three-fourths of loyal state legislatures.
Thus, the Union’s recapture of Texas marked slavery’s practical extinction in America. The anniversary has long been celebrated by some black Americans as “Emancipation Day,” “Jubilee,” or “Juneteenth.” In 2021, Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday after unanimous Senate approval.
