On June 19, 1865, two months after the surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox, the final order of emancipation informed the people of Texas that all enslaved people were free, marking the end of slavery the United States. Though the Union victory at the end of the American Civil War gave legal freedom to over 4 million formerly enslaved African Americans, the true extent of freedom African Americans experienced is a topic of debate.

On one side, people sustain that legal emancipation, rights granted to African Americans and subsequent progress made by African Americans is evidence that freedom was attained. However, others argue that legal decisions, social limitations and the subsequent inequality that African Americans faced is evidence that the Civil War did not result in freedom for African Americans.

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