The House has passed a bill that officially designated Juneteenth on June 19, a federal holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
The Senate rushed the piece of legislation through with no debate. The bill passed with an overwhelming majority, the final vote was 415 to 14, with 14 Republicans voting against it. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it soon before June 19.
Democrats argued about the importance of commemorating the end of slavery. Some of their Republican colleagues supported the bill to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Montana), one of the 14 that voted against the bill, claimed it was “the left’s” way to “make Americans feel bad and convince them that our country is evil.”
On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger of Galveston, Texas issued an order enforcing President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, declaring “all slaves are free.” From that day on, it has been variously known as Juneteenth, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day and Juneteenth Independence Day.
