What few understand is that the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to states that had seceded from the United States. It did not prevent border states or Confederate states under Northern control from holding slaves. In addition, the promise of freedom was dependent upon the Union’s military victory. The Proclamation, however, allow Black men to join the Union Army and Navy.
Although the Proclamation would free some slaves, slavery would not officially end in America until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. Section 1 of the Thirteenth Amendment states “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In making Juneteenth both a Federal and State holiday, it helps us to acknowledge our country’s history and inspires us to move our equity journey forward. The National Archives has an interesting article on the Emancipation Proclamation. Although the Proclamation would free some slaves, slavery would not officially end in America until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. Section 1 of the Thirteenth Amendment states “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In making Juneteenth both a Federal and State holiday, it helps us to acknowledge our country’s history and inspires us to move our equity journey forward. The National Archives has an interesting article on the Emancipation Proclamation, which you can read here: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation