---
title: "General Order No. 3 — AP African American Studies Guide"
description: "General Order No. 3, read in Galveston on June 19, 1865, announced freedom to enslaved Texans and sparked Juneteenth. Key for AP African American Studies 2.24."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/general-order-no-3"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 2"
---

# General Order No. 3 — AP African American Studies Guide

## Definition

General Order No. 3 was the Union military order read by General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, informing enslaved people there of their freedom; it was the first document to mention racial equality, declaring "an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves."

## What It Is

General Order No. 3 is the announcement that turned [freedom](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe "fv-autolink") from paper into reality for enslaved people in Texas. The [Emancipation Proclamation](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/emancipation-proclamation "fv-autolink") had declared them free back in 1863, but Texas was the last Confederate state where enslavement still continued in practice. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and read the order aloud, telling roughly 250,000 enslaved Texans that they were free.

The order matters for two reasons on the AP exam. First, it explains the *date* of Juneteenth, the Freedom Day that commemorates June 19, 1865. Second, its language broke new ground. It was the first document to mention [racial equality](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/18-colonization-and-belonging-in-america/study-guide/nYvYLqQghOZ7QK9T "fv-autolink"), promising "an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves." No earlier government document, not even the Emancipation Proclamation, had said anything about equality. That quoted phrase is exactly the kind of detail the CED highlights in EK 2.24.B.1.

## Why It Matters

General Order No. 3 lives in **Topic 2.24 (Freedom Days: Commemorating the Ongoing Struggle for Freedom)** in [Unit 2](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2 "fv-autolink"). It directly supports learning objective **[AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink") 2.24.B**, which asks you to explain why Juneteenth is historically and culturally significant. You can't explain Juneteenth without this order, since the holiday literally commemorates the day it was read. It also connects to **AP African American Studies 2.24.A**, describing the events that officially ended legal enslavement, because it sits in the timeline between the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment's ratification later in 1865. The bigger theme here is the gap between freedom being declared and freedom being delivered. That gap, and how Black communities commemorated closing it, is what Topic 2.24 is all about.

## Connections

### [Juneteenth (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/juneteenth)

[Juneteenth](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/juneteenth "fv-autolink") IS the commemoration of General Order No. 3. The holiday marks June 19, 1865, the day Granger read the order in Galveston. If an exam question asks what event Juneteenth specifically commemorates, this order is the answer.

### [Emancipation Proclamation (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/emancipation-proclamation)

The Proclamation declared freedom in [Confederate states](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/24-commemorating-the-ongoing-struggle-for-freedom/study-guide/inq1tAviyl4I0nza "fv-autolink") in 1863, but it couldn't enforce itself where the Union army hadn't reached. General Order No. 3 is what enforcement looked like, arriving in Texas two and a half years later. The lag between the two documents is the whole point of Juneteenth.

### [Thirteenth Amendment (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/thirteenth-amendment)

Even after Granger's order, enslavement remained legal in the four border states. The [Thirteenth Amendment](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/thirteenth-amendment "fv-autolink"), ratified later in 1865, made abolition permanent and nationwide, freeing four million African Americans. The order ended slavery in the last rebelling state; the amendment ended it everywhere.

### Freedom Day celebrations (Unit 2)

General Order No. 3 fits a longer tradition of African American communities marking local Freedom Days, going back to the celebration of New York's abolition on July 5, 1827. Juneteenth grew from a Texas commemoration into the most widely recognized Freedom Day in the country.

## On the AP Exam

Expect multiple-choice questions that test three things. First, the who/where/when basics, like which Union general delivered the news of freedom in Galveston (Gordon Granger) and what event Juneteenth commemorates. Second, the order's distinctive language about "absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves," since it was the first document to mention racial equality. Third, sequencing, meaning you should be able to place the order between the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and the Thirteenth Amendment's ratification (1865). On short-answer or project-style questions, the order works as evidence for why African American communities created Freedom Day commemorations, the cultural significance piece of LO 2.24.B.

## General Order No. 3 vs Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863) was Lincoln's wartime order declaring enslaved people in rebelling Confederate states free. General Order No. 3 (June 19, 1865) was the military announcement that finally enforced that freedom in Texas, the last state of rebellion. Think of it this way: the Proclamation made the promise, and General Order No. 3 delivered it. Bonus distinction the exam loves: only General Order No. 3 mentions racial equality. The Proclamation never did.

## Key Takeaways

- General Order No. 3 was read by Union General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, informing enslaved Texans that they were free.
- It was the first document to mention racial equality, declaring "an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves."
- Juneteenth commemorates the day this order was read, marking the end of slavery in Texas, the last state of rebellion.
- The order came two and a half years after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, showing the gap between freedom being declared and freedom actually arriving.
- Slavery wasn't fully abolished until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified later in 1865, since the order didn't touch the four border states where enslavement was still legal.

## FAQs

### What is General Order No. 3 in AP African American Studies?

It's the Union military order read by General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, announcing that enslaved people in Texas were free. It's the event Juneteenth commemorates, covered in Topic 2.24.

### Did General Order No. 3 end slavery in the United States?

No. It ended enforcement of slavery in Texas, the last rebelling state, but legal enslavement continued in the four border states until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified later in 1865. The amendment, not the order, made abolition permanent nationwide.

### How is General Order No. 3 different from the Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation (1863) declared enslaved people in Confederate states free, but it took Union troops to enforce it. General Order No. 3 (1865) was the announcement that carried out that freedom in Texas. Also, only General Order No. 3 mentioned racial equality between former masters and enslaved people.

### Who read General Order No. 3 and where?

Union General Gordon Granger read the order in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. That date and place are exactly what Juneteenth celebrates, and the exam expects you to know all three details.

### Why was General Order No. 3 the first document to mention racial equality?

Its text promised "an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves." No earlier U.S. document, including the Emancipation Proclamation, had stated anything about equality between Black and white Americans, which is why the CED singles out this phrase.

## Related Study Guides

- [2.24 Freedom Days: Commemorating the Ongoing Struggle for Freedom](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/24-commemorating-the-ongoing-struggle-for-freedom/study-guide/inq1tAviyl4I0nza)

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