The 13th Amendment : Abolition Of Slavery

On December 6, 1865 the 13th amendment was introduced to the U. S Constitution. This amendment allegedly proclaimed to abolish slavery. Yet, the interpretation of the

In 1865 Congress passed the thirteenth Amendment stating” Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.The 14th Amendment provides the citizenship, due process and equal protection clauses. The 13th amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865. It was preceded by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which freed all slaves from the Confederate states during the Civil War. Most of these states were in the South below the Mason-Dixon line.The 14th Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868, and it is the longest of all the Reconstruction Amendments, having five separate sections. The amendment also covers citizen's' right to hold public office, suffrage, compensation for emancipation and debts of war.

Issued by Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation set all slaves, under Confederate control, free, and armed black troops for the Civil War. A year later, beginning in September of 1864, Maryland, Tennessee, Missouri, and Louisiana abolished slavery. Shortly after, approved by Congress in February of 1865 and ratified in December, the Thirteenth Amendment was official. This amendment abolished slavery throughout the entire Union, which finally freed Kentucky and Delaware slaves. The war started as a fight to preserve the Union, but the new amendment went to show that the war had shifted to a fight to end slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment resulted in the abolition of slavery permanently. Although this freedom did not mean equality. Northern African Americans had been battling for their civil rights before and after the war. They were petitioning and campaigning at the state level, and created the National Convention of Colored Men and the National Rights League at the national level. None of these had as big of an impact as when the Radical republicans in Congress got involved to help overturn the inequalities.

The 13th Amendment says that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Formally abolishing slavery in the United States, the 13th Amendment was passed by the Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. This amendment was unique and different from the other amendments which are the 14th and 15th. The 13th amendment abolished slavery, but the 14th was unique also because it overturned the Dred Scott decision, and it counted all citizens, including slaves, as citizens in the US. The 15th amendment gave African Americans the right to vote.

Therefore, on January 1st, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, which said that "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free”(National Archives). Even though this was a large step for America during the war, it was only a war measure and “might have no constitutional validity once the war was over”(History). There were many proposals for amendments based on the Emancipation Proclamation, but as the war ended, no formal requests had been made. The 13th amendment was introduced into congress on March 14th, 1864, but there was much opposition to the amendment in the senate, especially from the border states. Eventually the amendment was passed in 1865. It was called “the grandest event of the century” by many and gave hope to many previous slaves, but what many could not foresee is that even though this goal had been achieved, the 13th amendment allowed many other problems to open up that had to be

When the United States was founded, it did not frown upon slavery. The mistreatment and unconstitutional practice of slavery was not noted until the Civil War. Congress passed a law abolishing slavery on January 31, 1865. To tie that into today, we see racism still lives but for the most part, all are treated equally. Had this law not been passed, segregation would still have a hold of our country. Back then, as well as now, all should have been treated equally. All men are free men regardless of their skin color, ethnicity, and origin. The thirteenth amendment was only beneficial to our

The original words of this document according to https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/13thamendment.html were "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This essentially meant that there would be no more slavery unless it was a punishment for a crime that was committed. As the war had just ended and the expansion of slavery had been stopped this amendment was put into place. With this being one of the most foolproof plans it was passed by the Congress on January 31, 1865 and ratified by the states on December 6,

Ratified by the states in the winter of 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was put into play. It declared, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” (Primary Documents). Officially, this amendment outlawed the practice of slavery, there was, however, an exception. That exception was the use of involuntary servitude, or slavery, as a form of punishment. More than four million African Americans walked free in 1865, this had a rather negative impact on the Southern economy. And so came the Convict-lease system. Many white Southerners saw this system as a solution to their economic hardships; nonetheless, it was often seen as being worse than slavery. In addition to the convict lease system was the practice of Sharecropping and Peonage. These forms of subjugation brought even greater distress to the newly freed African Americans. Despite the ratifying of the Thirteenth Amendment the abhorrent treatment of this newly freed race did not change significantly thanks to programs like the Convict Lease system, Peonage, and Sharecropping.

First of all, the 13th Amendment was the single most important measure of the 19th century because of the immense changes it made to the United States both societally and economically. The emancipation of the slaves helped hasten the end of the American Civil War for the benefit of the Union. Soon after losing the Civil war, the Confederate states in the south were forced to reunite with the Union and surrender their right to the enslavement of African Americans. The enactment of the 13th amendment was the first step to give African American’s equal rights. Without a doubt, African American rights were not the only thing the abolishment of slavery accomplished. The southern reliance on slavery for economic prosperity

During the U.S. Civil War, African Americans that were slaves became people of the United States and gained the rights they deserved. Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 which ended slavery. This signing also led to the 13th Amendment being created. This goes along with the idea of the civil war that took place in America that was fought over slavery. Lincoln abolished slavery hoping to reunite the Union. During Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech, he says, “All persons held as slaves within any State or designed part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be them, thenceforward, and forever free” (Document 10, unit 4). Abraham Lincoln had now freed slaves in

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the ensuing American Civil War all states where forced to ratify the thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery “within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In 1870 the fifteenth amendment was passed making it unconstitutional to prohibit voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” While the thirteenth and fifteenth amendments made it constitution for African Americans to vote it did not prohibit states from implementing obstructions at voting booths such as poll taxes, literacy test, lineage tracking, and other qualifications. While Plessy v. Ferguson established the separate but equal doctrine which is described as “racially segregated but ostensibly ensuring equal opportunities to all races.” The established doctrine of Separate but Equal was never enforced, and the cries of the neglected fell upon deaf ears until 1954, 58 years after a virtual caste system was established in the Nation of “freedom and equal opportunity” segregating everything from schools to bathrooms because of the color of your skin.

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Ratified in 1865, the thirteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution formalized this result in U.S. law, abolishing slavery throughout the country and every territory subject to its jurisdiction.