How Juneteenth Became a National Holiday

Read Juneteenth and the End of Slavery in Texas first, then use the timeline and crossword as review or independent work.

Place Juneteenth milestones from 1866 on a timeline and find spans of years. The directions on the page read: Read the cards. Mark each card's year on the scale and write its letter above the mark. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 7th grade Culture: Holidays and Heritage, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Juneteenth is the observance of June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas. The name joins the words June and nineteenth, and Black Texans began celebrating in 1866.

The Emancipation Proclamation depended on the Union army, and few troops had reached remote Texas by 1863. The reading asks students to explain this and why the 13th Amendment was still needed.

The crossword names the kind of holiday Juneteenth became in 2021. The timeline sheet follows milestones from the first celebrations in 1866 to the national holiday.