On This Day in Texas History: ‘All Slaves are Free!’

On this day in Texas history, June 19, 1865: Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, which stated "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."

This is, of course, known now as 'Juneteenth' and is a Federal holiday.

The first paragraph of the Wikipedia article on the subject explains:

"Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States.

The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

Although this date commemorates enslaved people learning of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation, this only applied to former Confederate states. There remained legally enslaved people in states that never seceded from the Union. These people did not gain their freedom until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865."

Reddit user ATSTlover made this post on Reddit to further clarify how the holiday came to be:

"The word Juneteenth came about as a name for the June 19th celebrations in the 1890's, first appearing in print in the Brenham Weekly Banner, a white newspaper from Brenham, Texas in 1891.

During the Jim Crow era celebrations declined while organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected statues to honor the Confederacy and worked hard to spread their "state's rights" b*******.

In the 1960's Juneteenth began to see a rise in popularity again, and was officially made a state holiday by the Texas Legislature with a 1979 bill that took effect on January 1, 1980. By 2016 forty five states recognized Juneteenth, and on June 17, 2021 it was made a Federal Holiday."

Being a Federal holiday means that a few places will be closed today, including the Federal Reserve and its 24 bank branches. Other banks, such as Capitol One, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Chase, and American National Bank, will also close.

On X, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts said federal courtrooms would be closed, but e-filing is still available.

The U.S. Postal Service is also closing, and there will be no regular mail delivery except holiday premium Priority Mail Express. People can still order stamps, shipping supplies, print shipping labels and request package pickups online.

UPS and FedEx store locations are open, though, with pickup and delivery services available.