Fulfilling America's Promise

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Watershed Moments in History
Celebrating Juneteenth and Remembering America's Promise
On June 19, 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation ([link removed](1863).1?lang=en) came to Galveston, Texas – which is where the last enslaved community in the Confederacy learned about their freedom. Since then, people in Texas and around the country have celebrated the day as “Juneteenth ([link removed]) .”

Juneteenth ([link removed]) is a momentous holiday for our country. It is a time for us all to remember our country's founding principles and our steadfast commitment to equality as inscribed in the Declaration of Independence ([link removed]) . It affirms the values that make us free.


** Juneteenth Celebration at Emancipation Park, Houston, Texas, 1880
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Many of the American Founders knew that slavery was wrong. Adams ([link removed]) , Jefferson ([link removed]) , and Washington ([link removed]) believed that the Revolution’s fight for liberty and the emphasis on liberty and equality in our founding documents would lead to emancipation.The institution of slavery was inconsistent with the original vision for the country as outlined in the Declaration. If all people are created free, that means everyone, regardless of race.

The Founders attempted to put slavery on the path to eventual extinction by outlawing slavery in what we now call the Midwest through the Northwest Ordinance ([link removed](1784;_1785;_1787)?tab=contents) and supporting emancipation efforts in several northern states.
In spite of such efforts, slavery did not diminish, but expanded significantly. Proslavery politicians such as John C. Calhoun ([link removed]) disagreed with the Declaration of Independence ([link removed]) . They believed in fundamental inequality, saying that slavery was a “positive good ([link removed](1837).12?ven=Civil_War_Notebook〈=en&with=all&lang2=en) .” Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, the pro-slavery camp followed a systematic policy of extending slavery far beyond the limits the Founders set.

Anti-slavery statesmen saw that the Founding was ultimately on their side.

Abolitionists and enslaved people across America looked to the Founding as a source of hope and as a stumbling block to the pro-slavery ideology of the South. As Frederick Douglass ([link removed]) once said ([link removed](1852)) , “as it ought to be interpreted, the Constitution is a GLORIOUS LIBERTY DOCUMENT.”

Abraham Lincoln ([link removed]) knew that the Declaration was the greatest condemnation of slavery ever written and ran for president to defend its principles. While he aimed to end slavery, he fought the Civil War first and foremost to save the Union. But when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation ([link removed](1862).1?lang=en) in 1863, it transformed the war in the eyes of very divided citizens, from a questionable war to preserve the union to a justified war of liberation that they would rally behind.

While the Civil War continued, enslaved people who were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation learned of their freedom gradually.

The news of emancipation finally reached the enslaved community of Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, two years after Lincoln's proclamation and two months after the Civil War ended. This day would become a yearly celebration. A 93-year-old named Sarah Ashley ([link removed]) (right), of Goodrich, Texas described her first Juneteenth ([link removed]) as a “burst of freedom.”

Juneteenth ([link removed]) is a chance to celebrate the eternal truth that all people are born free and equal. It recognizes our journey toward realizing our founding principles. At the Jack Miller Center we believe that the future of our country depends on such knowledge — we must pass on our story of freedom to each generation.

The JMC is committed to civic education grounded in America's history and our founding principles – we invite you to join us in the effort. Learn how you can contribute to our mission here ([link removed]) .
"The battle for the soul of our nation will be won or lost in our
classrooms." — Jack Miller

At the Jack Miller Center, American civic education is our sole mission. We are the boots on the ground, working to bring the our nation's founding principles and history back to the classroom. Please consider a tax-deductible ([link removed]) donation to JMC. Your donation, large or small, is an investment in the future of our country—for you, for your children, for your grandchildren.
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About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.

We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
www.jackmillercenter.org

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