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General Order No. 3, prepared on June 19, 1865, by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, announced the end of legalized slavery in the state. This was some two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. In “On Juneteenth,” historian Annette Gordon-Reed describes the event as a source of great pride statewide and considers the move to make it a national holiday a tribute to the exceptionalism of Texas in every respect. (Though in the wake of last year’s social justice protests, it has also become an opportunity for commercialization.)