Juneteenth has become the newest United States federal holiday. It is now one of twelve federal holidays, which include Christmas Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day.
Juneteenth is the short name of June Nineteenth. On June 19, 1865, enslaved people were freed in Texas. The holiday celebrates the end of slavery. It is also called Freedom Day.
This is a special document. It is an order that made enslaved people free. Abraham Lincoln wrote this order. Later, the United States government changed the Constitution. No one was allowed to have enslaved people work for them.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana.
