Juneteenth Isn’t What They Told You

Peter Schiff argues that Juneteenth, the newly created federal holiday, is being sold to Americans on a false historical premise and that its passage was driven more by political pressure than by genuine commemoration. In his view, lawmakers rushed the measure through to avoid appearing racist, and the holiday rests on a revisionist account of when slavery truly ended.

According to Peter Schiff, the legislation cleared the Senate by unanimous vote and passed the House overwhelmingly, with only 14 Republicans opposed, and President Biden signed it so federal employees could take Friday off with pay. He contends that supporting the holiday became a litmus test on racism, which he says pressures officials into backing measures they would otherwise question.

Peter Schiff disputes the claim that Juneteenth marked the freeing of the last enslaved Americans. He notes that the Emancipation Proclamation did not reach slaveholding border states such as Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland, and that slavery was not fully abolished until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. He suggests that either that date or the April 9, 1865 end of the Civil War would be more historically accurate choices for commemoration.

Peter Schiff also objects on fiscal grounds, pointing to federal workers’ existing 10 paid holidays, roughly 13 sick days, and about 20 vacation days on average, and arguing that the country cannot afford another paid day off. He proposes swapping out Columbus Day or Veterans Day, which he says the private-sector market does not observe, and criticizes the immediate effective date that left travelers, including his own family, scrambling to reschedule passport appointments.

Key takeaways

• Peter Schiff says Juneteenth was made a federal holiday largely to signal opposition to racism rather than for substantive reasons.
• He argues the June 19, 1865 Galveston announcement did not mark the final emancipation of enslaved Americans.
• Peter Schiff points to the Thirteenth Amendment’s December 6, 1865 ratification as the more accurate emancipation milestone.
• He warns that federal workers already receive generous paid time off that the country cannot afford to expand.
• Peter Schiff criticizes the abrupt effective date, which disrupted travel plans and passport appointments.
• He predicts the holiday will prove divisive and encourage further legislation driven by racial guilt.