In different parts of the United States, people celebrate Emancipation Day at different times. Juneteenth is the most popular time. Florida, on the other hand, has its party a month earlier.
On May 20, this country celebrates Emancipation Day, which marks the end of slavery in 1865.
The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, but it didn’t go into force for two years. The Emancipation Proclamation was not accepted by the Confederate states until they gave up to the Union on April 9, 1865, which ended the Civil War.
What Does the 20th of May Mean?
When the Civil War was over, Union troops went into Confederate states to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been in place for two and a half years.
On May 10, 1865, Union Gen. Ed McCook went to Leon County to get the Confederate men to give up. After 10 days, McCook went to Tallahassee to read the Emancipation Proclamation, which told slaves that they were now free.
After 1865, black people in Florida began to celebrate freedom every year, according to the non-profit group Florida Humanities. In 1997, May 20 was made a national holiday in Florida.
Is Juneteenth the Same Thing as Juneteenth?
Both events are about the same thing, but they are celebrated on different days.
Juneteenth is often called Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Independence Day, or Black Independence Day. These names come from putting the month and day together.
Because it took so long for Union generals to get to Southern states after the war finished, it is celebrated on different days. Texas was the last Confederate state to end slavery. On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordan Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston.
When it became a state holiday in 1980, Texas was one of the first states to celebrate Juneteenth. This was 40 years before Congress made it a federal holiday.
President Joe Biden signed Bill S. 475 into law on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth a government holiday.
