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1 1 (July 1, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedwh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional
~.Research Service
informing the legi Iative debate since 1914 ___________________
Juneteenth National Independence Day: A
New Federal Holiday
July 1, 2021
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed S. 475, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, into
law. S. 475 passed the House of Representatives on June 16 and the Senate on June 15. The House
companion measure was H.R. 1320. The act amends Section 6103(a), Title 5 of the United States Code to
designate June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. In past Congresses, legislation was
introduced to create a federal holiday and the House and Senate also agreed to resolutions honoring
Juneteenth.
Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army issued General Order No. 3 in
Galveston, Texas. The order announced to the people of Texas that the Emancipation Proclamation's
freeing of enslaved people in the Confederate states was in effect. Specifically, General Order No. 3
stated:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of
the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality ofpersonalrights and rights
of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between
them, becomes that between employer andhired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their
present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at
military posts; and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
Since the issuance of General Order No. 3, the observance of Juneteenth on June 19 has evolved. Today,
49 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday or
observance (see CRS Report R44865, Juneteenth: Fact Sheet, by Erin M. Smith, Table 1. States that
Commemorate or Observe Juneteenth).
Federal Holidays
With the enactment of S. 475 and the creation of the Juneteenth National Independence Day, the United
States now has 12 permanent federal holidays, codified at 5 U.S.C. §6103. They are, in the order they
appear in the calendar, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Inauguration Day (every four
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11697
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Membersand
Committeesof Congress

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