Jun 28, 2022 2 min read

I must respectfully disagree with the letter from John Manning about Juneteenth in the June 22 Observer-Reporter. Mr. Manning is correct that the Emancipation Proclamation is an important document in American history, but as a student of American history I know that in fact the proclamation freed exactly zero slaves. It was an aspirational document, clearly stating the goal of eliminating slavery. The proclamation stated that all slaves in the 10 states which were in rebellion were free. The Confederacy ignored this statement which would need force to back it up. The proclamation did not apply to the approximately half-million slaves held by citizens of Union states, mostly border states such as Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, some of whom would have to wait for the 13th Amendment.

Freedom came to the vast number of slaves in the Confederacy as Union troops advanced. Every encounter between Union troops and slaves included the announcement that the slaves were free. The last slaves were freed in this manner on June 19, 1865, called Juneteenth. It is impossible to have hundreds of celebration days for those freed during the Union advance. It seems to me most appropriate to select the final day as a fitting date for the celebration of freedom.

Susan Priest

Washington