Why Is The 13th Amendment Important

In 1865, slavery was abolished, by the Thirteenth amendment. This Amendment brought humongous changes and a large number of problems. (Lecture 1) After the destruction of slavery, it left nearly four million African American with no property, little training, and few rights; which made the definition of freedom for African Americans the central question on the nation’s agenda. The big question of the time period was, “what was freedom for African Americans?” (Give me liberty! An American 550)

During the 1800s, discrimination against African Americans was apparent throughout America in varying degrees. Especially in the North, people wanted to find a solution to stop this inequality. When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865, it was a turning point and ever since then more movements have occurred to promote greater equality for African Americans. Despite these turning points, discrimination still continued to occur for African Americans, and it has led to numerous historic and political movements.

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

The 13th Amendment says “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.” (Doc C) Although many years later African Americans still were not being treated like people, abolishing slavery was a big step to the stop of harsh treatment toward African Americans. The citizenship, and the right to vote are granted to African Americans by the 14, and 15 Amendments. The passing of these Amendments insured that the African Americans are people.

Back then, many African Americans suffered from unfair treatment in the society due to their race, but this Amendment prohibited this from happening again. In the Amendment it stated that, “the amendment prohibited states from disenfranchising voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”(US Constitution). After this rule was established, the Americans began to decrease their racism towards the African American race. Moreover,as time passes by, there has been less and less outbreaks that happened in communities due to the racial discrimination. This shows that the Fifteenth Amendment did have a positive impact on the society in terms of improving the way people were treated.

The Constitution of the United States and the amendments that follow established the principles of our country. After the north won the civil war, reconstruction began in the south and several new laws were passed to support African American equality. In 1865, the 13th amendment was passed, which resulted in slavery being abolished. These newly freed men were made many promises. Among them were the promises of political, social, and economic justice. It seemed as though these promises would be kept as violating them was deemed unconstitutional. For example, the 14th amendment granted 3 rights to all men: the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, states cannot pass laws to abridge these rights, and the right that all men were seen equal before the law. Also, the 15th amendment was passed, which established the right to vote for all men, and thereby gave African Americans political power. In reality, however, these newly freed African Americans were still treated as inferior members of society. Reconstruction did not provide political, social, or economic justice to freed slaves.

The 13th amendment which was ratified in 1865, is outlined in the film 13th by Ava DuVernay. She explores the exploitable loophole left by the 13th amendment which converts slavery from a legal business model to an equally legal method of punishment for criminals. This easily missed clause is carefully examined and revealed to its viewers. The film came at a time where the new generations have seen their peak in police brutality and arrest in the black and minority communities. The film carefully build its points by inspiring levels of shock and outrage that stun and leave viewers disturbed and outraged trying to understand how something so significant has been hidden and missed by the community that needed the understanding the most.

The 13th amendment abolished slavery for African Americans. The 14th amendment gave citizenship rights and equal protection of laws to African Americans. The 15th amendment gave African Americans to have the right to vote. There was a free school for colored kids where they would be able to learn and have an education. There’s a source that says that all people born in the United States are citizens of every race and color. Source 4 says, “That all persons born in the United States are declared to be citizens … slavery or involuntary servitude.” All have the same rights if someone does a crime, they get punished as same as the others, they all treated equal. Source 4 says, “... equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person … like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law.” This just explains that everybody should be treated equal, no matter by their skin color or

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

But even though the amendment AND Andrew Jackson states that “ all men are created equal”, blacks would not be treated fairly for a while(stating back to the 2nd paragraph)! Blacks would not have good jobs and were not quite treated the same by whites, blacks(stating back to the last paragraph) would be separated from whites in terms of schools they went to, water fountains they drank from, and their places on the bus, like how blacks were supposed to give up their spot on the front of the bus and sit in the

Between January 31, 1865 and February, 1869, three of America’s most crucial amendments were passed. After the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Era these amendments were put into place to give the African American the equality they deserved but to do this they had to make changes to the Constitution. For these action to happen, there must be a proposed amendment. These amendments must be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives or by a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. From there this amendment may become part of the Constitution by either the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by State ratifying conventions held in three-fourths of the states. If voted yes, this amendment will change the constitution and be apart of it.

1. The ratification of the 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution marked a historical achievement for the freedom of African slaves in America. Even with this amendment freed slaves, especially in the south, endured many hardships. Many freed slaves in the south still dealt with horrific conditions that existed during the Civil War. Also, slavery by another name was introduced by the state level with legal and prison systems leasing black convicts to corporations for work. Lastly, Africans received much backlash from their white counterparts with many different acts of violence occurring because of this new amendment. The passing of the 13th amendment can be seen as just paperwork, and the true nature of this country can still be seen

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

This resulted in civil rights of slaves and free black people being taken away. Education was also prohibited and the right to be able to assemble was limited. This was an important event before the civil war.

Thanks to the groundbreaking Thirteenth Amendment, no person may be forced to work except in retribution for a crime he or she committed. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is often viewed only as the amendment that abolished the insufferable slavery of African-Americans, - and this does appear to be the case on the surface - however many more interpretations promise many useful arguments for the labor movement and cause controversy over its ineffectiveness in combating racism and its hand in creating the hotly-debated American for-profit prison system.