when were the slaves freed

Slaves in the United States were declared legally free on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which applied to slaves in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union. However, this proclamation did not free slaves in all areas, particularly those in Union- controlled border states or Confederate areas under Union control. The actual legal abolition of slavery throughout the entire United States came with the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865. Additionally, Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, 1865, marks the day when the last enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom by Union troops, and has become a symbolic date commemorating slavery's end in the U.S.