Full transcript of “Juneteenth - 6 Facts The Government Does Not Want You To Understand”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 Welcome, today's video is about the six facts about Juneteenth that the government does not want you to understand. Now let me start this video out by saying: There is nothing wrong with celebrating Juneteenth. It means a lot to a lot of people, and I think we should continue the celebration. But I do believe that everyone should know the truth about Juneteenth, and these facts are things that not everyone knows. So as we go through the facts, remember fact number six is the most important. So stick around to the end of the video. Well let's get started. First let's start out with what is Juneteenth.
0:48 Juneteenth is the longest celebration of freedom for African Americans from slavery in this country. This is all about General Granger arriving in Galveston Texas in June of 1865, to start the occupation of Texas. When he arrived, he issued a general order to ensure that all slaves were set free in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, and on June 19th, the slaves were freed in Galveston Texas. This is something very important for the people of Galveston,
1:35 and should always be celebrated. The first fact that you need to understand occurred in May of 1861. This was right at the beginning of the war and this occurred in Virginia, at Fort Monroe. See General Benjamin Butler was in command of the Union forces for North Carolina and Virginia, and his headquarters was at Fortress Monroe in May of 1861. Three slaves escaped and stole a boat, and rode across the river from Norfolk Virginia to Fortress Monroe.
2:21 They came to the gates of the fort and asked for their freedom. Now General Butler met with these men, and he came up with the decision; because these men were property of a Confederate Major, and they were being used against the United States to build fortifications at Sewell's Point in Norfolk County. They were property being used against the Federal Government, therefore they were Contraband of War, and the government was seizing the property from the owner so that it could no longer be used against them in time of war. The names of the three escaped slaves were;
3:14 Frank Baker, James Townsend and Shepherd Mallory. When Confederate Major John Kerry came to Fortress Monroe to request the return of his slaves. He was told no, these men were being used against the Federal Government and therefore Contraband of War. Well this decision had a huge impact on the freedom of African Americans in Virginia. Word got out very quickly, that these three men had obtained their freedom at Fortress Monroe. Then there was a stampede of people wanting to get their freedom, as they ran away from their masters, and made their way to Fortress Monroe.
4:05 Thousands of slaves were freed because of this decision of General Butler. This was the beginning of what became a fight for freedom during the Civil War, because until this point there was no freedom for African Americans because the union army was attacking the south. This is the trial balloon, the successful decision that made the Emancipation Proclamation possible. Now you may be asking the question; what does this have to do with Juneteenth? Well I'm gonna get to that in just a little while. So hang on. Now let's go move to fact number two.
4:57 The second fact is the Confiscation Act that was signed into law August the 6th 1861. In fact the exact title of this act is "An Act to Confiscate Property Used for Insurrection Purposes". This act allowed the Federal Government to seize any property that was being used against the Federal Government in the war against the Union. This act made it legal for the government to seize slaves that were being used against the Federal Government. This only increased the number of slaves seeking freedom
5:44 at military installations across the south. Whenever the Union Army would get within reach, they could run away to the union camp, and be freed, because they were property used against the Federal Government. This act made the contraband ruling completely legal, and more binding. The third fact is the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln on January the 1st 1863. This proclamation freed all slaves in the territories in rebellion against the United States with a few exceptions, that were already under Union control. This proclamation
6:35 gave freedom to hundreds of thousands of African-Americans in the United States. The only thing that now had to be completed, is the Union had to win the Civil War. Once again you might be saying to yourself; what does this have to do with Juneteenth? Gonna get to that just a moment. So hang on. The fourth fact you need to understand is; the population of Galveston Texas at the time the union army arrived. I looked at the Federal Census in 1860, and it the population of Galveston Texas was just over 7,000 people and of these 7,000 people, about 1,200 people were enslaved.
7:27 That means that when the Union Army arrived in Galveston Texas, there was only about 1,200 people that they could free. Now let's think about this the decision by General Butler, on the Contraband of War. That, was that more important than the 1,200 or so people that were freed when the Union Army arrived in Galveston Texas on Juneteenth 1865. Thousands upon thousands of people gained their freedom, because of this decision by General Butler in 1861. Now let's look
8:17 at the Confiscation Act this made General Butler's decision legal across the United States, therefore also contributing to the freedom of thousands of enslaved people. Fact number three was the Emancipation Proclamation. This was the reason that hundreds of thousands of African Americans gained their freedom in the south. Now when you compare that to just over 1,200 people in Galveston Texas, which is more important. I'll let you decide. Now let's move on to fact number five. Fact number five is that when the
9:12 Union Army arrived in Galveston Texas at the end of the war, Galveston Texas was a seaport. This was the entryway into Texas for the Union Army after the war. So they freed just over 1,200 people in Galveston. These people did not know that they had been set free by the Emancipation Proclamation, but now had their freedom. But wait a minute, if Galveston is a port city, what about the rest of Texas. Well there were over 250,000 enslaved individuals in Texas, and a large number of these people did not know that they were free yet.
10:00 So therefore there was hundreds of thousands of enslaved people that still did not know they were free on Juneteenth. It took time for the Union Army to occupy Texas after the war, and free all these people, who had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Therefore the people freed on Juneteenth were not the last enslaved people to gain their freedom in Texas or the south. Now for fact number six. This is the most important fact that I want you to remember, and this is one that the government doesn't want you to understand.
10:50 The fact is the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the civil war did not end slavery in the United States. It was still legal to own slaves in two of the states that fought for the North. These two states were Delaware and Kentucky and the slaves in Delaware and Kentucky were not going to get their freedom until December of 1865. This is over five months after Juneteenth. What happened was the state of Georgia ratified the 13th Amendment on December the 6th
11:41 1865. This now gave the 13th Amendment enough states ratifying this change in the Constitution, to make it part of the Constitution. Then on December 18th the Federal Government recognized the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and it became American law for all states. Therefore the state of Delaware and the state of Kentucky were forced to free their slaves as a result of the 13th amendment. So why did the Federal Government
12:33 choose to celebrate Juneteenth instead of the actual day when slavery ended in the United States? Why didn't they choose December 18th to be the celebration of the end of slavery? Well it comes down to a very simple fact. The narrative they want you to know is; the North was good and the South was bad. This is not true. Slavery's last stronghold in the United States took place in the states that fought for the North, but this ruins the narrative. It ruins
13:22 the narrative that the South is bad. That the Confederates were the last holdout for slavery. In fact it was states in the North that were the last holdout for slavery. Now I believe we should celebrate the end of slavery, and in my opinion December 18th is much more important than Juneteenth, but I don't think the federal government will ever recognize the end of slavery as a national holiday. Well I'll let you make your own decisions about what should be the true celebration for the end of slavery. Now I can't end any video about slavery
14:16 without saying that slavery still exists in the United States. It's called human trafficking. It's illegal and we need to fight it. We need to make sure that our representatives in the government are doing all they can to end this terrible practice, to help the victims, and help them gain their freedom. So if you hate slavery stand up and help end human trafficking. Thank you.
