The U.S. military will celebrate Juneteenth as an official holiday as per legislation signed by President Joe Biden this week. Juneteenth (for June 19th) celebrates the ending of slavery in America.
While the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in Sept. 1862, the history behind Juneteenth reveals the actual date of emancipation and the ending of slavery to be a bit more complicated.
There are significant dates that can justifiably be pointed towards as marking the end of slavery, including Jan. 31, 1865, when the 13th Amendment was passed by Congress which officially abolished slavery. Or April 9, 1865, when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to the U.S. Army.
But, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect in Jan. 1863, only ended slavery in the Confederacy and the 13th Amendment was not ratified until December, and in the meantime, many enslavers continued to practice slavery.
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June 19, 1865, marks the date the American Army issued an edict in the state of Texas announcing the complete abolition of slavery, in a sense ending the practice not just on paper but in practicality. In time, June 19th or Juneteenth became the most popular date to celebrate the end of slavery in America.
"I've only been president for several months, but I think this will go down, for me, as one of the greatest honors I will have as president," Biden said after signing the legislation making the holiday official Thursday.
The bill was approved unanimously in the Senate and only 14 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against the bill.
How service members and veterans will celebrate the newest federal holiday remains to be seen, but lingering in the background will be a related issue that has a more direct impact on the U.S. military: renaming bases named after Confederate officers.
About a dozen installations around the country are still named after confederate soldiers. A Congressionally mandated committee at the Department of Defense has until October of 2022 to make a recommendation for renaming those bases.
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