On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Gen. Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3, which proclaimed: "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."