when did slavery end in america

Slavery in America officially ended with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on December 6, 1865. The amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states free, it did not end slavery nationwide. The last major enforcement of freedom was marked by General Gordon Granger's announcement in Texas on June 19, 1865, celebrated as Juneteenth, but the constitutional abolition came later with the 13th Amendment ratification.