Emancipation
"A Free Negro Family in Spanish Texas"..Courtesy of Institute of Texan Cultures
The Civil War ended in April 1865. Despite President Lincoln's decree of January 1863,
Texas African-Americans were not free until the end of the war. On June 19, 1865, General
Gordon Granger issued a proclamation declaring the "Negroes" to be free. To this day, the
Texas African-Americans celebrate June 19, which they call "Juneteenth", as their day of
freedom.
In February 1866, the delegates met at a convention in Austin. The convention
admitted that slavery no longer existed and placed a section in the constitution
prohibiting it. A few restrictions were placed on free "Negroes", but many civil rights were
extended to them. Texas was more generous than any other southern state in granting
rights to the former slaves.