On January 1, 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation proclaiming “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
There were a few problems with that:
- Lincoln’s proclamation said nothing about freeing those persons held in slavery in NORTHERN states.
- At that time, Lincoln had no authority over the Confederate states, which considered themselves an independent nation.
- No one told the slaves in Texas.
So when the Confederate States lost the war and the Union government sent federal troops to occupy Texas, one of the first things Gen. Gordon Granger did when he landed in Galveston on June 19, 1865 (barely 2 months after the war ended) was to read the Emancipation Proclamation, belatedly bringing news of promised freedom to 250,000 slaves in Texas.
The event, now celebrated as “Juneteenth”, is a uniquely Texan holiday celebrated in many communities with ceremonies, picnics, and parades, but there have been efforts in recent years to make Juneteenth a national day of observance or to proclaim it “National Freedom Day.”
Juneteenth IS a very important day.
It SHOULD be remembered and celebrated as a huge milestone.
But it is and always has been Texas Emancipation Day.
Texas was not even a state in the United States when the proclamation was made here, so it never had national impact.
So here’s my question for readers: If you had to choose a day to commemorate National Emancipation, which day would you choose and why?
Please comment!
