111: Juneteenth


"Ashton Villa Galveston Texas" by Nsaum75 at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashton_Villa_Galveston_Texas.jpg#/media/File:Ashton_Villa_Galveston_Texas.jpg
Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas (Photo by NSaum75 via Wikimedia)

June 19th is the 150th anniversary of the news of the end of the American Civil War reaching Texas and the effective end of slavery in the United States.

Here are a few things you may not have known about what is now called Juneteenth.

First: On the balcony of Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas, General Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3, which announced the complete emancipation of the 250,000 slaves still held in Texas.

Second: The celebration of Juneteenth was largely limited due to government policies of segregation and disenfranchisement, however freed slaves and their descendants purchased property on which to hold the celebrations.

Third: Waves of migration from Texas and the rest of the South spread the celebration to other parts of the country. 43 states have declared Juneteenth either a legal or ceremonial holiday. The states that do not recognize it are Arizona, Montana, Utah, Hawaii, New Hampshire, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Our question: How many years passed between the Emancipation Proclamation and the issuance of General Order No. 3?

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