jan 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation

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On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all enslaved people within the seceded states. The proclamation also allowed African-American men to enlist in the Union Army and Navy, so that they could directly contribute to the fight for freedom and abolition. However, this was a dangerous promise to make on the part of the Union.

For one, the Emancipation Proclamation did not ensure the liberty of all enslaved people of the United States. It only applied to those states actively in rebellion, so slavery was still allowed to exist in the loyal border states and parts of the Confederacy that had already been taken back by the Union. Additionally, the enforcement of this promise directly depended on the advancement of Union troops. Since this was generally a slow and uncertain process, many enslaved people, especially those in Texas, the slave state farthest from the Union, did not know that they were legally free, and nothing changed for them.

However, on June 19th, 1865, about two and half years after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union troops finally arrived in Galveston, Texas, and it was announced that the war had ended, and African-Americans were no longer to be held as slaves. Upon this day, those enslaved Africans were finally allowed to shake off the chains of slavery and experience freedom for the first time. Thus, for many African-Americans, the true independence day is June 19th, rather than July 4th.

However, the struggle for true equality did not end here for African-Americans. In fact, slavery was still legal in the two loyal border states of Delaware and Tennessee until the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment months later. Additionally, although they were technically free, the freedmen did not have any money or a home. They were discriminated against and generally not well-educated, as the resources had never been allowed to them before. On top of this, many of them had to travel across the country to go northward, where they seemed to be more accepting, or to look for family members that they had been separated from as part of the slave trade.

Juneteenth remains an important holiday in honor of the day that the African-Americans actually got to experience freedom, and is a time for family members to come together and celebrate. It is also a reminder of the great length of time it takes to achieve true equality, as even to this day, African-Americans are still fighting against their oppression.

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