History and the Census: Juneteenth
The decennial census tracked our nation's enslaved population as it grew from 697,897 in 1790 to 3,953,760 in 1860. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger led Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas, to announce that all enslaved people in Texas were free, marking the end of slavery in the United States. Since 2021, the celebration of Galveston's freed slaves is commemorated annually by the Juneteenth federal holiday.
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History and the Census: Juneteenth
President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the American Civil War in April 1865 did not immediately release all enslaved people in the southern United States. It took weeks for news of the war's end and emancipation to reach many regions of the Confederacy, particularly remote areas of the southern United States where Union soldiers were not present during the war. As a result, it was not until June 19, 1865, that Union Major General and commander of the U.S. Army's District of Texas Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and freed the last pocket of slavery in the South. His "General Order No. 3" issued that day stated that, "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free." In the decades that followed, many of the more than 3.9 million slaves counted during the 1860 Census migrated throughout the United States and brought the celebration of Juneteenth—a combination of the words June and nineteenth—with them. On June 17, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law designating Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Juneteenth is a combination of the two words "June" and "Nineteenth." Celebrated on June 19 each year since 1866, Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021.
Galveston's newly freed inhabitants celebrated their emancipation within hours of Granger's orders. As formerly enslaved Galvestonians migrated to other areas of the United States, they continued to celebrate their freedom on June 19. Just one year after Galveston's slaves were freed, celebrations were held on June 19 in Dallas, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; Washington, DC; and Boston, Massachusetts. Early celebrations often included prayer services, singing, a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, and voter education.
Despite being one of the last bastions of slavery following the end of the Civil War, the state of Texas led the nation in commemorating Juneteenth in the 20th century. The Texas State Fair in Dallas became a popular gathering point with as many as 200,000 people celebrating Juneteenth there in the 1930s. In 1938, Texas Governor James V. Allred proclaimed the first observance of "Emancipation Day."
Texas was also first to make Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980. Since then, every state and the District of Columbia has followed Texas' lead establishing state holidays or observances. During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump and candidate Joseph Biden both supported making Juneteenth a federal holiday. After the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 15, 2021, President Biden signed the bill into law making making Juneteenth the first new federal holiday since President Ronald Reagan signed the Martin Luther King holiday bill into law on November 2,1983.
You can learn more about Juneteenth using data and records collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. For example:
- Decennial censuses tracked the growth of the enslaved population in the United States from 1790 to 1860. In 1790, the census counted 697,624 enslaved people. The number more than doubled to 1,538,022 in 1820. The population of enslaved people grew to 3,204,313 in 1850. The 1860 Census was the last to count slaves, finding the enslaved population had peaked at 3,953,760.
- Juneteenth commemorates the freeing of slaves in Galveston, Texas, one of the last corners of the Confederacy that Union troops reached following the end of the American Civil War. In 1860, Galveston had a population of 7,307, including 6,127 White, 2 "Free Colored," and 1,178 enslaved people. The coastal city's population peaked at 67,175 in 1960. In 2023, the Census Bureau estimated that the city was home to 53,237 people.
- Did you know that drinking red-colored beverages like sorrel flower punch, red hibiscus tea, and strawberry soda is a popular way to commemorate Juneteenth? Prior to the American Civil War, these drinks were enjoyed by slave owners, but never shared with slaves. When slavery ended, consumption of these red beverages not only symbolized slavery's bloodshed, but also the former slaves newfound freedom to indulge in small, once forbidden luxuries. In 2022, a variety of popular strawberry-, cranberry-, red cream-, and cherry-flavored carbonated beverages were produced by some of the 610 Soft Drink Manufacturing (NAICS 312111) establishments in the United States. The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series reported that these establishment employed 67,219 people during the pay period that included March 12, 2022.
- As African Americans from Galveston moved to other areas of Texas, they took the Juneteenth holiday with them. For example, residents of Dallas began celebrating Juneteenth in 1866. Today the city's annual Juneteenth Festival, concerts, and educational events attract thousands of attendees. in 1872, former slaves Richard Allen, Richard Brock, Jack Yates, and Elias Dibble purchased a 10-acre parcel of land in Houston to provide a gathering place for other former slaves to celebrate Juneteenth. Today, the revitalized Emancipation Park is the oldest public park in Houston and continues to host Juneteenth-related events, including art installations, concerts, the Freedom Walk/Run & Health Fair. Residents of Fort Worth held its first documented Juneteenth celebration in 1882 with music, dancing, and speeches. The city is home to the National Juneteenth Museum scheduled to open in 2026.
- The United States conducted its first census of Galveston in 1850. The city's population was 4,177, which included 3,469 White, 30 "Free Colored," and 678 enslaved inhabitants. Following the American Civil War, the 1870 Census counted 13,818 people, including 10,810 people identified as White, 3,007 "Colored," and 1 "Indian." The city's population peaked in 1960 when 67,175 people called Galveston home. In 1960, females outnumber males 34,368 to 32,807. The city's population consisted of 48,726 Whites; 18,282 Blacks; 26 "Indians"; 24 Japanese; 44 Chinese; 68 Filipinos; and 5 people identified as Other Races. More recently, the Census Bureau estimated that 53,237 people lived in Galveston in 2023. The majority (61.4 percent) were White alone; 14.6 percent were Black alone; and 17.4 percent identified as being Two or More Races.
- Many of the islands that were once the British West Indies—including the Bahamas, Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, etc.—celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1 or the first Monday in August. The date marks the anniversary of the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act, which gradually abolished slavery in Great Britain's colonies. In 2023, the Census Bureau estimated that 260,380 Americans identified as West Indian and 4.6 million of the 46.1 million foreign-born residents living in the United States identified as having Caribbean roots or ancestry.
- Texas State Representative Al Edwards—a Democrat representing Texas District 146 (Houston)—introduced the bill making Juneteenth an official state holiday in 1979. The state legislature passed the measure and Republican Governor William Clements, Jr., signed it into law later that year making Texas the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday. Edwards also founded Juneteenth USA "...to fund exceptional projects to bring all Americans to celebrate, support, and continue to elevate the common bond of freedom through the recognition, observance, education, and historic preservation of Juneteenth in America."
- Another popular way to celebrate Juneteenth is by supporting local, Black-owned businesses. The Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey (ABS) uses respondent-supplied survey data and administrative records to produce data on business ownership in the United States. According to data from the 2023 ABS, which covers reference year 2022, there were an estimated 194,585 Black or African American-owned businesses with $211.8 billion in annual receipts, 1.6 million employees, and about $61.2 billion in annual payroll. About 49,872 (25.6%) of these businesses were in the Health Care and Social Assistance (NAICS 62) sector.
On June 19, 1865, U.S. Major Genenal Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, informing the people of Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved people were free.
This Month in Census History: UNIVAC I
UNIVAC I in operation at the U.S. Census Bureau's Suitland, Maryland, headquarters.
On June 14, 1951, the U.S. Census Bureau and representatives of the Remington-Rand Corporation formally unveiled UNIVAC I—the first commercially produced, digital computer in the United States.
When completed, the 16,000 pound computer used thousands of vacuum tubes to perform about 1,000 calculations per second.
Pleased with how quickly UNIVAC I tabulated data from the 1950 Census of Population and Housing and the 1954 Economic Census, the Census Bureau purchased another one a few years later. The agency continued to use these computers until replacing them with two UNIVAC 1105 computers in the 1960s.
Today, the original UNIVAC I installed at the Census Bureau is in the collection of the Smithsonian national Museum of American History.
Related Information
U.S. Major General Gordon Granger
Gordon Granger was born in Wayne County, New York in 1821. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1841. After graduating in 1845, he was assigned to regiments in Detroit, Michigan, and Jefferson Barracks, south of St. Louis, Missouri. He later received citations for gallantry during the Mexican-American War.
During the American Civil War, Granger proved himself a skilled leader and rose through the ranks rapidly. He was promoted to captain in May 1861; colonel in September 1861; brigadier general in March 1862; and major general in September 1862.
Despite serving with distinction, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Ulysses S. Grant disliked Gordon Granger and blocked appointments to more prominent leadership roles in the eastern theater of the war. When Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, Granger was leading infantry in support of naval operations around Mobile, Alabama.
General Philip H. Sheridan gave Granger command of the District of Texas on June 10, 1865. Although the Civil War was over, slavery continued in many parts of the Confederacy until Union troops arrived to enforce emancipation. As a result, the South's last enslaved people were freed in Galveston when Union troops arrived there on June 19, 1865. Celebrations among Galveston's newly freed people began almost immediately, with annual celebrations of "Juneteenth" expanding since 1866.
In the years that followed, Granger's political alliance with President Andrew Johnson and poor health hindered his chances for more prestigious assignments. He fell ill while serving as commander of the District of New Mexico and died on January 10, 1876, at the age of 55.
Related Information
Distribution of the Slave Population Map
Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States. Compiled from the 1860 Census.
In an attempt to raise money for sick and wounded soldiers in 1861, the U.S. Coast Survey printed and the Census Bureau certified a "Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States. Compiled from the census of 1860."
The map was the first to use statistical cartography to visually illustrate population density based on 1860 Census data. The map included the percentage of the population enslaved in each county in the southern United States. Darker shading depicted larger populations of enslaved people, particularly along the Chesapeake Bay and in eastern Virginia; along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts; in a crescent of lands in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi; and along the Mississippi River Valley.
The map proved to be so important to the understanding of slavery in the United States that Francis Bicknell Carpenter included it in his 1864 painting, "First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln."
A second map published by the U.S. Coast Survey illustrated the density of the enslaved population in Virginia. With nearly 500,000 slaves in 1860, Virginia had the largest number of enslaved people of any state.