Omar Bennett
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States and its territories, except as punishment for a crime. This amendment was the culmination of a long and contentious debate over slavery in the United States, dating back to the country's founding. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 had freed around three million slaves in the Confederate-controlled areas, but an amendment was needed to guarantee the abolishment of slavery beyond legal challenge. The 13th Amendment finally ended slavery in the United States, nearly 250 years after the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Amendment number | 13th Amendment |
| Date passed by Congress | January 31, 1865 |
| Date ratified | December 6, 1865 |
| Date adopted | December 18, 1865 |
| Number of states ratifying the amendment | 27 of the then 36 states |
| States that did not ratify the amendment in 1865 | Mississippi |
| States that ratified the amendment after 1865 | Mississippi (in 1995) |
| President during the ratification | Abraham Lincoln |
| President's successor | Andrew Johnson |
| Number of slaves freed | 3 million |
| Date of the Emancipation Proclamation | January 1, 1863 |
| Date of enforcement of the proclamation in Texas | June 19, 1865 |
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What You'll Learn
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that "all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free". This executive order changed the legal status of more than 3 million enslaved African Americans in the Confederate states, freeing them.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a significant milestone in the road to ending slavery in the United States. It was issued during the American Civil War, as a military measure, and it transformed the character of the war. While it did not end slavery in the nation, it added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. The Proclamation also authorized the enlistment of freed African Americans into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, nearly 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union.
Lincoln's Proclamation was limited in scope, applying only to states that had seceded from the Union, and expressly exempting parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Union control. It also did not make slavery illegal. To fully abolish slavery, Lincoln recognized that the Proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment. Thus, he played an active role in ensuring the passage of the 13th Amendment through Congress, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The Amendment was passed by the Senate in 1864 and the House in 1865, and ratified by the required number of states by December 1865.
In conclusion, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation played a pivotal role in the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States. By freeing millions of enslaved people and adding momentum to the Union cause, it set the stage for the passage of the 13th Amendment, which constitutionally guaranteed the end of slavery.
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The 13th Amendment
The Amendment reads:
> "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."
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The role of the Republican Party
The Republican Party was formed in 1854, largely in response to the issue of slavery. The party was established by former members of the Whig Party, who had shown themselves to be incapable of dealing with the national crisis over slavery. The Whigs had resisted becoming an anti-slavery party, but the Republican Party was created as an explicitly anti-slavery alternative. The party was formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska to choose for themselves whether they would become slave or free states.
The Republican Party was not popular in the South, where it was believed that they wished to abolish slavery. In the 1860 election, the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won all the Northern states but none in the South. This widened the divide between the North and South, and six weeks after Lincoln's election, South Carolina formally seceded from the Union. Within six more weeks, five other Southern states had followed, and in April 1861, the Civil War began.
During the Civil War, the Republicans led the fight to destroy the Confederate States of America. The party was very successful in the North, where it had enlisted former Whigs and Free Soil Democrats to form majorities in nearly every Northern state. The Republicans denounced the Democrats as disloyal and won enough War Democrats to maintain their majority in 1862. In 1864, they formed a coalition with many War Democrats as the National Union Party, and Lincoln was easily re-elected.
Following the 1864 elections, Radical Republicans led by Charles Sumner in the Senate and Thaddeus Stevens in the House set the agenda by demanding more aggressive action against slavery. Under Republican congressional leadership, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution—which banned slavery in the United States—passed the Senate in 1864 and the House in 1865, before being ratified in December 1865.
The Thirteenth Amendment was the final answer to the question of slavery in the United States, providing 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". The Amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, before being ratified by the required number of states by December 6, 1865.
The Republican Party played a crucial role in ending slavery in the United States, both through their leadership during the Civil War and their sponsorship of the Thirteenth Amendment. The party's success in guiding the Union to victory in the Civil War, as well as their role in the abolition of slavery, ensured that the Republicans largely dominated the national political scene until 1932.
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The Civil War's influence
The American Civil War was the culmination of a series of confrontations concerning the institution of slavery. From its inception in 1776, the United States was divided into states that allowed slavery and states that prohibited it. The sectional divide began to open as the South became increasingly committed to slavery, while the North passed emancipation laws. The largest amount of slave labour was concentrated in the Southern states.
The Fugitive Slave Clause, located in Article IV, Section 2, asserted that a slave who was bound by the laws of their home state remained a slave wherever they went, even if they fled to a non-slavery state. This clause was reinforced by the 1857 Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, which undermined the abolitionist cause.
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 struck fear into many Southerners due to his Republican Party's anti-slavery outlook. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, which officially freed all 3.5 million African American slaves in the secessionist Southern states. However, Lincoln recognised that the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed at the end of the Civil War, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The Amendment was ratified by the required number of states by December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18, 1865. It was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments that greatly expanded the civil rights of Americans.
In conclusion, the Civil War was a pivotal event that brought the issue of slavery to the forefront and led to the emancipation of millions of enslaved people. The 13th Amendment, which was passed in the aftermath of the war, provided a constitutional solution to the issue of slavery and ensured that abolition was beyond legal challenge.
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The Southern states' resistance
The 13th Amendment, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery in the United States. However, the Southern states, particularly Kentucky, Delaware, and, to a limited extent, New Jersey, resisted the implementation of the Amendment. These states only agreed to the Amendment with strings attached. Their affirmative votes were accepted without comment, challenge, or acknowledgment, and they were included on the enrolled list of ratifying states.
The resistance and non-compliance of the Southern states to the 13th Amendment highlight the deep-rooted opposition to the abolition of slavery in those states, even in the face of a constitutional amendment. The Southern states' actions during this period reflect a complex interplay between formal ratification and their own interpretations of the Amendment's impact on slavery within their borders.
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Frequently asked questions
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States and its territories, except as punishment for a crime.
The 13th Amendment provided a final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery in the United States. It also empowered Congress to make laws against modern forms of slavery, such as sex trafficking.
The 13th Amendment was preceded by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1, 1863, and declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas were free. However, Lincoln recognised that the Emancipation Proclamation would need to be followed by a constitutional amendment to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.
