The Thirteenth Amendment
Brielyn Howard
Brielyn Howard
The thirteenth amendment was created to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude except punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The thirteenth Amendment was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments to be adopted, following the American Civil War.
Slavery had been protested in the original Constitution through clauses such as the three-fifths compromise, by which on slave would be considered three-fifths of a man. Population was counted for representation in the House of Representatives. Though many slaves had been declared free by Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, their post-war status was still uncertain. On April 8, 1864, the Senate passed an amendment to abolish slavery. After one unsuccessful vote and extensive legislative maneuvering by the Lincoln administration, the House followed suit on January 31, 1865. The measure was swiftly ratified by nearly the whole nation.
Though the amendment formally abolished slavery throughout the United States, factors such as Black Codes, white supremacist violence, and selective enforcement of statutes still continued to subject black Americans to involuntary labor, especially in the South. In contrast to the other Reconstruction Amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment was rarely cited in later case law, but has been used to strike down race-based discrimination such as "badges and incidents of slavery". While the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments apply only to state actors. The Thirteenth Amendment also applies to private citizens, and also enables Congress to pass laws against sex trafficking and other modern forms of slavery.
Slavery had been protested in the original Constitution through clauses such as the three-fifths compromise, by which on slave would be considered three-fifths of a man. Population was counted for representation in the House of Representatives. Though many slaves had been declared free by Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, their post-war status was still uncertain. On April 8, 1864, the Senate passed an amendment to abolish slavery. After one unsuccessful vote and extensive legislative maneuvering by the Lincoln administration, the House followed suit on January 31, 1865. The measure was swiftly ratified by nearly the whole nation.
Though the amendment formally abolished slavery throughout the United States, factors such as Black Codes, white supremacist violence, and selective enforcement of statutes still continued to subject black Americans to involuntary labor, especially in the South. In contrast to the other Reconstruction Amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment was rarely cited in later case law, but has been used to strike down race-based discrimination such as "badges and incidents of slavery". While the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments apply only to state actors. The Thirteenth Amendment also applies to private citizens, and also enables Congress to pass laws against sex trafficking and other modern forms of slavery.