Juneteenth (June 19) commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over and that enslaved people were free. While the day has been celebrated since, it was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.
Image: Reading the Emancipation Proclamation, a print by Lucius Stebbins, Hartford, Connecticut, 1864 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC07595)
A short film from our partners at Annenberg Classroom. This film explores the history of Juneteenth and illustrates how and why freedom and citizenship were intertwined, as well as how the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution changed and expanded the definition of citizenship and the rights of all American citizens.
Students analyze primary source documents that convey the realities of slavery in the United States, represent various viewpoints on emancipation, and provide context for the federal holiday of Juneteenth.
Learn about military, scientific, cultural, and political achievements from the colonial era through the abolition of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and the election of Barack Obama.
A conversation with Annette Gordon-Reed (Harvard University), moderated by Professor Edward L. Ayers (University of Richmond), about her book On Juneteenth.
Self-Paced Courses offer graduate-level online instruction in American history by eminent historians. Courses are available to watch or listen to on your own time and at your own pace. Teachers can also get certificates for CEU credits.
History Now, the online journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, features essays by the nation’s leading historians.
Essays
Each Spotlight on a document from the Gilder Lehrman Collection provides explanatory text, a transcript, and an image of the featured document.
Explore images from the Gilder Lehrman Collection related to Juneteenth.
