On the Shelf

A Juneteenth Quiz: The Answers

As you’ll discover (unless you already knew this) in the answer to Question 2 below, Juneteenth was celebrated earlier this week. Now it’s time to find out how you did on the Juneteenth Quiz I posed for you in last week’s column. (Only you will know your final grade — unless you decide to share it.)

1. What is Juneteenth all about?

A: The Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, declared that on January 1, 1863, “all persons held as slaves” in the Confederacy were “forever free”. However, with the Civil War ongoing, news of that did not reach everyone immediately. Juneteenth is the annual observance of when that news reached the last of the enslaved persons.

2. What was the original date of Juneteenth, and when is it recognized each year?

A: On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger brought news of the Emancipation Proclamation to the island of Galveston, Texas, informing all of that state that slaves were free. Thus, Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 of each year.

3. When were the first black slaves brought to what is now the United States?

A. In August, 1619, the English privateer White Lion brought (and sold) “20 and odd” enslaved Negroes, who had been seized from a Portuguese slave ship, to the British colony of Jamestown, in what is now Virginia.

4. What was the Declaration of Independence’s stance on slavery?

A: The final document does not mention slavery and, through its silence, condoned enslavement. The first draft did include a condemnation of slavery, but those words were removed before it was finalized, underscoring the contradiction between the founding fathers’ beliefs and actions.

5. What did the Constitution originally say about slavery?

A: It counted each enslaved person as only three-fifths of a person (Article 1, Section 2). It prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves for 20 years, until 1808 (Article 1, Section 9). It required the return of runaway slaves to their owners (Article 4, Section 2). However, the words “slave” or “slavery” are never used in the Constitution.

6. Which amendment made slavery illegal?

A. 13th Amendment (1865): “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

7. According to the Constitution, is slavery now legal in the United States?

A: Yes — the words which fill the above ellipses in the 13th Amendment are these: “…except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted…”.

8. Which amendment guaranteed citizenship to persons of color, including former slaves?

A. 14th Amendment (1868): “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

9. When was the right to vote guaranteed to all United States citizens, including former slaves?

A. 1870 (15th Amendment): “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

10. Was California admitted to the union as a free state or a slave state?

A. A free state — although slavery of indigenous people was an ongoing practice in the state.

11. Who was the only woman known to have led a military operation during the Civil War?

A. On June 2, 1863, Harriet Tubman led 150 black Union soldiers (part of the U.S. 2nd South Carolina Volunteers) in the Combahee River Raid that liberated more than 700 enslaved persons.

12. Is Juneteenth a recognized holiday in the United States?

A. Yes — on June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing it as a federal holiday, followed by a 415-14 vote in the House of Representatives the next day. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on June 17, 2021. (California adopted it as a state holiday in 2023.)