Although the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 (when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia), news of the victory of the Union (the north) and the enforcement of the liberation of all slaves did not reach the outlying areas of the USA for months (there was neither radio nor TV, but many cities had telegraph lines; news to outlying areas was spread on horseback, by boat, or via a few railroads). Some of the last of the slaves to be freed were in Galveston, Texas; they were freed on June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger and 2,000 Union troops arrived on Galveston Island, Texas, enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation (which had been issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862), freeing the remaining slaves.

Juneteenth became an official holiday in Texas on Jan. 1, 1980, and is now celebrated in many US states. Texas-style activities often accompany this holiday, including picnics, barbecues, rodeos, pot-lucks, and other informal get-togethers.

Juneteenth History, Spelling and Word-Related Worksheets:

Juneteenth: Printable Read-and-Answer Worksheet A printable worksheet on Juneteenth, with a short text, a map to color, and questions to answer. Or go to the answers.	Juneteenth Cloze: Printable Fill-in-the-Blanks Worksheet Fill in the blanks on printable worksheet. Or go to the answers.	Juneteenth Wordsearch Puzzle Find the words in the wordsearch puzzle, then use the extra letters to find the secret message about Juneteenth. Words: Civil War, Confederacy, emancipated, freedom, Galveston, June, Lee, liberty, Lincoln, rights, slave, south, Texas, Union. Secret Message: "Juneteenth celebrates freedom." Or go to the answers.	Write a Juneteenth Acrostic Poem Write a poem about Juneteenth. Start each line with a letter from the word "JUNETEENTH."
Juneteenth Alphabet Code Use the alphabet code to find the Juneteenth message. Answer: "Juneteenth celebrates the freeing of the last slaves in America."	Put 10 Juneteenth Words in Alphabetical Order - Worksheet Put 10 Juneteenth words in alphabetical order. The words are: June, Texas, Lincoln, freedom, slavery, rights, enforce, liberty, history, celerate. Go to the answers.	Match the Syllables: Juneteenth Words Match two syllables to make 10 Juneteenth-related words. The words are Texas, freedom, enforced, Union, soldiers, Lincoln, civil, nineteenth, former, enslaved. Or go to the answers.	Write Eight Juneteenth-Related Words Write eight Juneteenth-related words. Then, for each word, write a sentence containing the word. Sample answers: freedom, slavery, emancipation, war, Texas, soldiers, liberation, proclamation.
Juneteenth: Word Hunt Worksheet How many words can you make using the letters from "Celebrate Juneteenth"? Sample answers: heart, crate, jar, ... Go to worksheet with 30 blanks or a worksheet with 50 blanks.	Write a Sentence for Each Juneteenth Day Word Write a sentence for each of the Juneteenth spelling words. Words: freedom, slavery, Texas, rights, soldier, liberty, June, American, history, celebrate.	Finish the Sentence about Juneteenth Finish the sentence about Juneteenth and illustrate it. The sentence starts, "On Juneteenth..."	Juneteenth Spelling Word Questions Use the list of Juneteenth spelling words to answer simple questions. Words: war, slavery, slave, freedom, June, Texas, rights, celebrate, America, soldiers. Or go to the answers.
Rewrite the Paragraph about Juneteenth Rewrite the Juneteenth paragraph, correcting the capitalization and adding punctuation marks. Or go to the answers.	Juneteenth Words Grammar Potpourri Worksheet Find synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, an anagram, and a compound word, then capitalize, punctuate, and correct the spelling of sentences. Or go to the answers.	Juneteenth: Find a Juneteenth Word for Each Letter See if you can think of and write down a Juneteenth-related word that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Or go to a sample answer page.