Republicans Celebrate Juneteenth
Although Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, it wasn’t until this day in 1865 that Union General Gordon Granger was able to get to Galveston, Texas to let those remaining enslaved Americans know the Civil War was over and all slaves were free. The Republican Party will always be proudly connected to Juneteenth because of President Lincoln’s leadership, and we enthusiastically welcome its adoption as our newest national holiday after President Trump called for it last year.