What is Juneteenth, and why is it important? - Karlos K. Hill and Soraya Field Fiorio
519,232 Views
4,122 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
At the end of the Civil War, though slavery was technically illegal in all states, it still persisted in the last bastions of the Confederacy. This was the case when Union General Gordon Granger marched his troops into Galveston, Texas on June 19th and announced that all enslaved people there were officially free. Karlos K. Hill and Soraya Field Fiorio dig into the history of Juneteenth.
The 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed the nearly 3.5 million enslaved people living in the southern Confederate states. In reality, the Emancipation Proclamation freed no one. The Confederate states had seceded from the Union and did not consider themselves subject to the laws passed under Abraham Lincoln. Surprisingly, the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the Southern border states that remained in the Union, where slavery continued to be practiced legally (Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky). In your opinion, what might have been the purpose, if any, of a law that applied only to states outside Northern control, but not to the states within it?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Karlos K. Hill, Soraya Field Fiorio
- Director Rémi Cans, Atypicalist
- Narrator Christina Greer
- Animator Dabid Pascual
- Art Director Marine Hennes
- Sound Designer Weston Fonger
- Composer Jarrett Farkas
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Producer Anna Bechtol
- Associate Producer Abdallah Ewis
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Cella Wright
- Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
