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Writer's pictureTommy Sangchompuphen

Juneteenth and Legislative History

Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday.

In honor of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the Law Library of Congress created an informative web page explaining its legislative history.


When it comes to the Multistate Performance Test, pay attention to any legislative history that is provided to you in the testing materials. The legislative history can either appear as a separate document in the Library (as in Jackson v. Franklin Sports Gazette, Inc.) or as comments appearing at the end of statutes or codes in the Library.


Examinees sometimes make the mistake of overlooking the legislative history and only focus on the cases and the substantive information in the statutes. But the legislative history can often provide insight into the intent behind the passage of the law or explain how the statute—and even cases—should be interpreted.


Remember: If the legislative history or comments after the statutes weren't important for you to consider when drafting your response, the examiners wouldn't have provided that information to you in the first place. So make sure you read them and find a way to incorporate them into your responses.

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