Emancipation Proclamation
In 1864, this slave-holding state voted to abolish slavery.
Maryland
This Union Army General is credited with emancipating enslaved people in Texas.
Major General Gordon Granger
This legislative body was first to approve the bill that eventually became the 13th amendment.
U.S. Senate
On this date in the United States, all forms of slavery except one were outlawed nationwide.
December 6, 1865
In 1991, this became the second state to officially acknowledge Juneteenth.
Florida
President Lincoln used this tool to initially distribute the Emancipation Proclamation.
Telegraph
This was the most popular sporting event at Juneteenth celebrations of the 1800's through the mid-1900's.
Baseball
This was the first state to ratify the proposed 13th Amendment.
Illinois
In 1980, Emancipation Day became an official state holiday in this state.
Texas
This was the first state to outlaw slavery.
Vermont
President Lincoln exempted portions of these two slave-holding states from the Emancipation Proclamation.
Louisiana and Virginia
This Galveston, TX tourist site is commonly believed - but unproven - to be where General Order No. 3 was originally announced.
Ashton Villa
This state ratified the 13th Amendment 148 years after it became national law.
Mississippi
The first enslaved African was documented in what is now Florida and Texas this year.
1528
During the early 1900s, Texas governors did this in recognition of Juneteenth.
Pardon Black prisoners
This is the oldest continuous commemoration of emancipation in the United States.
Watchnight
On this date, enslaved people in Houston, Texas emancipated.
June 20, 1865
Before the proposed 13th Amendment was ratified nationally, these were the last two states where slavery remained legal.
Delaware and Kentucky
In this jurisdiction, President Abraham Lincoln outlawed slavery on April 16, 1862.
Washington, D.C.
This Texas port was the destination of Black soldiers who unexpectedly arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865.
Brazos Santiago (now called Padre Island)
In recognition of emancipation, President Harry Truman and Congress created this annual national observance.
National Freedom Day
During this pre-Juneteenth event, enslaved people were unintentionally released when Texas slave owners suddenly ran in mass to the U.S.
The runaway scrape
This is the only form of slavery specifically exempted by the 13th Amendment.
Criminal punishment
In 1941, citizens in this city initiated what became National Freedom Day.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This was the first non-food industry to significantly commercialize Juneteenth.
Fashion