Juneteenth : Home
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves in states controlled by the Union were free. Slavery did not end in the southern states controlled by the Confederacy. The news of the Emancipation Proclamation did not reach the southern states right away. On June 19, 1865, General Order #3 was posted all over Galveston. The General Order read in part "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation of the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free." Juneteenth celebrations began in Galveston on that date. Celebrations spread in the following years throughout the South and then throughout the country. In 2021, Juneteenth was recognized as a Federal holiday.
One of the earliest and most important documents published by the Government Printing Office was
the Emancipation Proclamation.
This is an image of the first printing with proofreader corrections. 
Government Documents regarding the Juneteenth Holiday
Juneteenth at Government Agencies
Juneteenth: Cause for Celebration
This recording of a 1925 Juneteenth parade in Beaumont, Texas is from the Solomon Sir Jones film archive of 1920s African-American life, held by Yale’s Beinecke Library.
Related Topics
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Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938For more information on slavery in the United States see our related libguide
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Last Seen: Finding Family after SlaveryLast Seen is recovering stories of families separated in the domestic slave trade. Formerly enslaved people placed these ads hoping to reconnect with family and loved ones for decades following emancipation. The ads serve as testaments to their enduring hope and determination to regain what was taken from them.
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Lost Friends DatabaseLost Friends
Advertisements from the Southwestern Christian Advocate
A database of more than 2,500 advertisements placed in the decades following the Civil War chronicles individuals searching for loved ones lost in slavery.
LibGuide Contributors
This resource guide is revised and currently maintained by Mary Kelleher, mk122 at rice.edu, Research Service Librarian I, Kelley Center for Government Information Resources and Civic Engagement.
Other contributor includes:
- Anna Xiong, Head of Kelley Center.
Decorative Printing of the Emancipation Proclamation
Engraving by R.A. Dimmick in 1864. Decorative versions of the Emancipation Proclamation were popular in the North; numerous versions were created.
Image from: National Museum of American History (n.d.).
NEH Virtual Bookshelf: Juneteenth
A selection of NEH-funded projects and resources related to Juneteenth and Black Americans' ongoing fight for freedom. Since January 2021, NEH has issued more than $50 million in funding for humanities projects that promote African American history and culture, support HBCUs, and counter hate-motivated violence.
General Order #3
Juneteenth Announcement
Announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in the Dallas Herald.
Image from: Today in History - June 19. (n.d.). Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
What is Juneteenth
- On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves in states controlled by the Union were free. Slavery did not end in the southern states controlled by the Confederacy, but as the Union gained more ground, more slaves became free.
- The news of the Emancipation Proclamation did not reach the southern states right away. Even when slaves knew about it, it was not enforced. The Union general Gordon Granger brought enforcement to Texas. On June 19, 1865, General Order #3 was posted all over Galveston. The General Order read in part "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation of the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."
- Juneteenth celebrations began in Galveston on that date. Celebrations spread in the following years throughout the South and then throughout the country.
- Juneteenth was recognized as a holiday (then called Emancipation Day) in Texas by Proclamation in 1938 and by the state legislature in 1979. Other states and Washington D.C. eventually followed.
- Celebrations spread outside the United States, and Juneteenth is now an international holiday in a number of countries.
- In 1996 the first legislation recognizing Juneteenth was formally introduced in the House by Barbara-Rose Collins (D-MI)
- In 2021 Juneteenth was recognized as a Federal holiday.
President Biden Signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Into Law
The Other Underground Railroad
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The Little Known History of Texas’ Underground Railroad“the story of freedom in Texas is bigger than Juneteenth, and it started well before June 19, 1865,” says Daina Ramey Berry, chair of the University of Texas at Austin History Department
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South to the Promised LandA Smithsonian magazine special report
The Legacy of the Underground Railroad in Texas
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools Program (CHAPS), "The Legacy of the Underground Railroad in Texas - The Webber and Jackson Families of Hidalgo County" (2022). Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Recordings. 4.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/chapsrecordings/4