Juneteenth

Let's take a moment and look at the history of 'Juneteenth'.  Yet another holiday to commemorate an event that itself is nearly forgotten, and certainly never discussed in detail.

The date marks the day Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Texas with 2000 troops and made an announcement.  He reiterated the emancipation proclamation, and declared slavery in Texas ended... or else.

This was two years after Lincoln and the Federal government had made slavery unlawful in the united states.  We had a little civil war that was in part over that issue, you may recall.

Now, the parts that get left out...

Granger represented the Union, and the Union was wholly a Republican construct.  The Republican party itself was formed around Lincoln primarily to end slavery, based on the platform of the Whig party.

Texas, and the slave owners of Galveston Texas, were a confederate state and overwhelmingly Democrat.  They had simply decided to disregard the law and not bother  telling their slaves they were free.  It took 2000 armed and experienced Union troops to convince them otherwise.

The Democrat slave owners of Texas and the rest of the Democrat controlled states did not roll over and abide by their surrender.  They immediately created the 'Black Codes' and 'Jim Crow' laws in an effort to keep their immoral power over the former slaves.