Writings on Juneteenth, its Meaning, and its Significance for American Liberty

Compendium of links to my writings about the holiday celebrating the abolition of slavery.

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Today, is Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery - the greatest triumph of freedom in American history. In this post, I compile some links to my writings relevant to the holiday and its significance. All are posts published here on the Volokh Conspiracy blog.

"Juneteenth and the Universalist Principles of the American Revolution," June 19, 2021. This post explains how abolition was a fulfillment rather than a repudiation of the principles of the American Revolution, despite attempts of some on both right and left to claim otherwise.

"Reflections on Juneteenth," June 19, 2024. This post extends and elaborates on the points made in the 2021 post, and condemns the lame culture war over the holiday.

"Slavery, the Declaration of Independence and Frederick Douglass' 'What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?'", July 4, 2020. Douglass's famous speech sheds light on some of America's greatest evils - but also on the great good done by the Revolution and Founding. This post - and Douglass's speech - are not about Juneteenth, as such. But they are obviously relevant. Douglass rightly argued that the principles of the Revolution required the abolition of slavery - while also condemning the hypocrisy of the many white Americans who claimed otherwise.

"The Case Against the Case Against the American Revolution," July 4, 2019. A rebuttal to longstanding arguments - advanced by critics on both right and left - that the Revolution did more harm than good. The claim that the Revolution somehow set back abolition is a central argument of many of those critics. I explain why that argument is wrong.