Celebrated as the end of slavery in the US. Obviously excludes the clause of the 13th Amendment that served as a loophole, but emancipation holidays aren’t always so cut-and-dry.
Before the 13th amendment, Lincoln formally ended slavery in the Union with the Emancipation Proclamation.
But even before that, from 1861, the Union Army made it a policy to seize slaves that it captured as contraband (or prize) of war, and then effectively emancipate then.
In general, even after the emancipation proclamation, slaves did not get actual freedom until the Union forces reached them.
I definitely think Juneteenth fits best as the final application of that proclamation. Although it’s slightly incongruous with July 4th celebrating the Declaration of Independence (rather than the end of the war), I think what distinguishes them is who declared the independence: the oppressed or the oppressor.
Independence Day celebrates the oppressed declaring their freedom and then later fighting to win it. An EP day would celebrate the oppressor declaring the freedom of the oppressed, so it seems less like it’d be celebrating black freedom and more like “wow guys look at what a good thing we did”. I’d imagine the EP falling on January 1st does its viability as a holiday no favors either.
likely because it’s somewhat an uncomfortable holiday, celebrating when slaves in Texas were told they had been free for 2 and a half years, but didn’t know it yet, and the slave owners were forced by the army to set them free.
It’s also relatively new as a federal holiday, only added in 2021. Before that it was largely officially observed only in Texas and a handful of cities.
Celebrated as the end of slavery in the US. Obviously excludes the clause of the 13th Amendment that served as a loophole, but emancipation holidays aren’t always so cut-and-dry.
Before the 13th amendment, Lincoln formally ended slavery in the Union with the Emancipation Proclamation.
But even before that, from 1861, the Union Army made it a policy to seize slaves that it captured as contraband (or prize) of war, and then effectively emancipate then.
In general, even after the emancipation proclamation, slaves did not get actual freedom until the Union forces reached them.
So it was a complicated and messy process.
I definitely think Juneteenth fits best as the final application of that proclamation. Although it’s slightly incongruous with July 4th celebrating the Declaration of Independence (rather than the end of the war), I think what distinguishes them is who declared the independence: the oppressed or the oppressor.
Independence Day celebrates the oppressed declaring their freedom and then later fighting to win it. An EP day would celebrate the oppressor declaring the freedom of the oppressed, so it seems less like it’d be celebrating black freedom and more like “wow guys look at what a good thing we did”. I’d imagine the EP falling on January 1st does its viability as a holiday no favors either.
Ir’s weird how I’ve never heard about this, seeing how prevalentie American culture is in popular media.
likely because it’s somewhat an uncomfortable holiday, celebrating when slaves in Texas were told they had been free for 2 and a half years, but didn’t know it yet, and the slave owners were forced by the army to set them free.
It’s also relatively new as a federal holiday, only added in 2021. Before that it was largely officially observed only in Texas and a handful of cities.
It was really only a thing in black communities until a few years ago. It’s our newest federal holiday.