Juneteenth celebrates the day that the last enslaved people were notified of the Emancipation Proclamation, 2 years after it was signed.

As Juneteenth celebrations spread throughout the country, they sometimes went by different names and took place on different days.

The origins and growth of the Juneteenth holiday

The American holiday of Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of African American slaves, a process which unfolded over the four years of the Civil War and several months afterward. June 19 took on special significance as the day Union officials proclaimed slaves free in Texas in 1865, the last holdout after the Civil War ended. Roughly 4 million people were freed from slavery as a result of emancipation. Read this brief article summarizing the holiday's development.

Despite the Juneteenth announcement that they were free, some enslaved people were still held captive.

The news delivered on the original Juneteenth freed enslaved people in Texas, but it also offered vague guidance on what they should do next.

The story of Opal Lee, 'grandmother' of Juneteenth

Opal Lee, an activist from Texas, is considered one of the major reasons Juneteenth is now an official federal US holiday. In 2016, Lee walked from Fort Worth, Texas, all the way to Washington, DC, to garner support for the cause of making the day an official national holiday. Read about her experience and victory in this brief overview of her role in the creation of the holiday.

Read the original handwritten General Order 3, the proclamation from the first Juneteenth that declared the end of slavery.

Formerly enslaved people in Houston purchased a plot of land in Houston in 1872 so they could have a place to celebrate Juneteenth.

The Emancipation Proclamation shifted the purpose of the war for the Union

Issued on Jan. 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved people in Confederate-held territory free, redefining the Union's cause from merely preserving the nation to abolishing slavery.

One grandmother walked from Texas to Washington, DC, to garner support for making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

A Mexican village celebrates Juneteenth, honoring its past as a refuge for thousands of Black people who'd escaped slavery in Texas.

The 13th Amendment permanently abolished slavery in the United States

Ratified in December 1865, the 13th Amendment outlawed slavery nationwide except as punishment for a crime. Southern states were required to ratify it under President Andrew Johnson's initial Reconstruction plan before regaining representation, though Congress later imposed stricter conditions.

'Lift Every Voice and Sing' was written to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday, but would go on to become the 'Black National Anthem' and a Juneteenth tradition.

Support for slavery helped drive Texas to revolt against Mexico

Mexico abolished slavery in 1829, but many Anglo-American settlers in Texas brought enslaved people and refused to comply. Their desire to preserve slavery was a major factor in Texas’s 1836 rebellion and independence from Mexico.

One of the earliest Memorial Day ceremonies was held by newly freed Black Americans in South Carolina

On May 1, 1865, roughly 10,000 people, mostly freed slaves, paraded around a Charleston racetrack where Union prisoners had been buried, predating the first national commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery by three years.

Red foods are often featured in Juneteenth celebrations, which some scholars say is symbolic of enslaved people's bloodshed.

Oregon was the first state to recognize Labor Day

In 1887, Oregon became the first of the 50 states to recognize Labor Day as an official holiday. By June 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making it a holiday for federal workers. Today, we mostly know Labor Day as summer’s last gasp, but its origin is more nuanced.

Slavery in the US: a timeline

In 1619, a ship with 20 captives landed at Point Comfort in Virginia, ushering in the era of American slavery. Scroll through this timeline to learn more about slavery in the US and its long lasting effects.

Abraham Lincoln's victory in 1860 sparked Southern secession—even before his inauguration

Abraham Lincoln's election on an antislavery expansion platform convinced many Southerners that their way of life was under threat. Within three months, seven states seceded from the Union—forming the Confederacy—before Lincoln took office in March 1861.

Interracial and same-sex marriages have both been illegal at certain times during US history

June 12 marks Loving Day, the date when interracial marriage was legalized in 1967. A brave Virginia couple fought back against anti-miscegenation laws, which were finally struck down by the Supreme Court. The Court also ruled for the protection of same-sex marriages in 2015.

The Reconstruction Amendments aimed to rebuild the nation and secure freedom after slavery

Ratified between 1865 and 1870 after the conclusion of the war, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and equal protection, and extended voting rights to Black men—transforming the Constitution's definition of liberty and equality.

Learn how Mexico’s anti-slavery stance shaped the US–Texas conflict

Historian Alice Baumgartner explores how Mexico’s abolition of slavery clashed with Anglo settlers' ambitions in Texas. The episode reveals how enslaved people fled south to freedom, reshaping the politics that led to Texas independence and the Mexican-American War.

Americans celebrated the end of the Revolutionary War with nationwide toasts

In 1783, citizens celebrated the signing of the Preliminary Articles of Peace with nationwide parties. Across the new country, many made 13 toasts to the 13 states. They also drank to George Washington. One poet in Boston wrote, “Health to his honor I’d freely drink, Had I a glass of wine; And whosoever with me shall think, May mix their toast with mine.”

American annexation of Texas eventually sparked war with Mexico

After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, the US annexed it in 1845—despite Mexico’s refusal to recognize Texas as separate. That annexation, combined with a heated border dispute, triggered the Mexican-American War the following year.

In the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln rapidly expanded presidential power

Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, expanded the army without congressional approval, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation—despite likely lacking authority to unilaterally alter national slave law. His actions set precedents for expanded presidential power in wartime.

The devastation of the American Civil War led to the establishment of Memorial Day

Tracing its origins to the post-Civil War era, Memorial Day began as local tributes to those who lost their lives in the war. Originally taking place annually on May 30, it was moved to the final Monday in May in 1971.

Cinco de Mayo holiday celebrations originated with California's Mexican Americans during the Civil War

California Latinos first celebrated Cinco de Mayo in 1862 through patriotic assemblies called Juntas Patrióticas. Ardent Union supporters, these individuals saw the Puebla victory as a win for democracy against both French imperialism and the Confederate cause.

The abolitionist movement long predated the Civil War

Beginning in the late 18th century, abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Sojourner Truth campaigned through newspapers, lectures, and political action to end slavery.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address became one of the most famous speeches in American history

Delivered by Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of a national cemetery, the 272-word Gettysburg Address reframed the war as a struggle for equality. The speech would be cited as a moral touchstone for later movements such as women's suffrage and civil rights.

George Washington's birthday was a federal holiday until it was moved to the third Monday in February in 1968

Washington's February 22 birthday became a federal holiday in 1879. A 1968 law moved it to the third Monday in February, and decades of advertising popularized the unofficial name "Presidents' Day," which the federal government never formally adopted.

The 15th Amendment granted Black men the right to vote nationwide

Ratified in 1870, the 15th Amendment prohibited federal and state governments from denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude—enfranchising millions of Black men.

Independence was approved on July 2, not July 4

This video highlights lesser-known facts about the Declaration of Independence, including that Congress approved independence on July 2—leading many Founders to believe that would be the day Americans would celebrate their independence.

The disputed 1876 Presidential election accelerated the end of Reconstruction

The 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden ended in a deadlock over contested Southern votes. To resolve the crisis, Democrats accepted Hayes's presidency in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops—formally ending Reconstruction.

The Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is protected speech

In Texas v. Johnson (1989), the court held, 5-4, that flag burning is a form of symbolic political expression protected by the First Amendment—one of the most controversial free-speech rulings in American history.

Mexico admired Lincoln for opposing the war and supporting Mexican sovereignty

As a congressman, Abraham Lincoln condemned the Mexican-American War as unjust. Years later, as president, he backed Mexico’s fight against French occupation. His principled stance earned enduring respect and monuments across Mexico.

July Fourth wasn't always a holiday, and its meaning has changed over time

This podcast explores how July Fourth evolved from an ordinary day into a national holiday, tracing its radical origins, the shifting interpretations of the Declaration, and how later generations claimed its language of liberty and equality.

The Dred Scott decision denied citizenship to people of African descent

In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford that Black Americans could not be US citizens. The decision heightened an already brewing conflict and became a key factor in pushing the nation toward civil war.

Lincoln's original reconstruction vision prioritized reconciliation

Proposed in 1863, Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan offered lenient readmission for Southern states once 10% of voters pledged loyalty and ended slavery. It was adopted in a few Union-occupied areas but was only partially implemented before his assassination in 1865.

Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16

Cinco de Mayo is widely mistaken for Mexican Independence Day. September 16 is the actual date, commemorating the 1810 Grito de Dolores, Father Miguel Hidalgo's call to revolution that launched Mexico's war against Spanish colonial rule.