Emancipation And The Constitution: An Amendment For Freedom

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude in the United States and its territories. This amendment was the culmination of a long struggle for freedom and equality for African Americans, beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, during the Civil War. The 13th Amendment not only ended slavery but also increased the political power of former slave-holding states by boosting their representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. It was the first of three Civil War amendments that significantly expanded the civil rights of Americans, followed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, which further defined citizenship, guaranteed equal protection under the law, and protected the right to vote.

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The Thirteenth Amendment

> "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."

Prior to the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery was implicitly recognised in the US Constitution through provisions such as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which stated that enslaved persons would be regarded as "three-fifths" of a fully free citizen for the purposes of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives. The Fugitive Slave Clause further asserted that a slave remained a slave even if they fled to a non-slavery state.

Following the Civil War, several members of Congress proposed their own versions of a new amendment to abolish slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by the Senate in April 1864 and by the House of Representatives in January 1865. It was ratified by the required 27 out of 36 states on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18, 1865. The amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the Civil War and provided a final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery in the United States.

The Emancipation Proclamation

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring:

> [A]ll persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

The proclamation applied to the ten states that were still in rebellion at the time, but it notably excluded the nearly 500,000 slaves in the slaveholding border states of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, as well as parts of Virginia that were no longer in rebellion and Louisiana's sugar-growing parishes. This was because Lincoln considered them Union loyalists, and he did not have the authority to enforce the proclamation in these states.

While the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it was a significant milestone in the road to its final destruction. It outraged white Southerners and their sympathizers, who saw it as the beginning of a race war, but it energized abolitionists and undermined Europeans who wanted to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy. The proclamation also shifted the purpose of the Civil War, from preserving the Union to ending slavery and reshaping the nation.

The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified in 1865, was the final answer to the question of slavery in the United States, making it illegal within the nation and its territories.

Fugitive Slave Clause

The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, was Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It required that a "person held to Service or Labour" who fled to another state be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped. The clause was enacted without debate or mention of the word "slave", and it remained in effect until the abolition of slavery under the Thirteenth Amendment.

The exact wording of the Fugitive Slave Clause is as follows:

> No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

The Fugitive Slave Clause was a compromise between free states and slave states. It gave slaveholders a constitutional right to recover their "property", an enslaved person, from a different state. This was in response to the fact that in the late 18th century, many northern states had abolished slavery while it remained a way of life in the American South.

The Fugitive Slave Clause was the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which strengthened slaveholders' rights to capture enslaved people who had run away. The enforcement provisions of this Act were further strengthened as part of the Compromise of 1850. This new law mandated that freedom seekers be returned to their enslavers without due process.

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Civil Rights Act of 1866

The Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. However, it did not explicitly address the rights of freed slaves or protect their freedoms. This gap in protection led to the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first federal law in the United States to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. Sponsored by Senator Lyman Trumbull, the Act was passed by Congress and guaranteed that all people born in the United States, except for American Indians, were citizens regardless of race, colour, or previous enslavement. It stated that all citizens had the same rights as white citizens to make and enforce contracts, sue and be sued, give evidence in court, and own property. Additionally, it criminalised the denial of these rights based on race or previous enslavement, imposing penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

The Act was initially vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, who disagreed with the level of federal intervention it implied. However, Congress overrode his veto, marking the first time a presidential veto was overridden for a major piece of legislation. Congressman John Bingham and other supporters of the Act argued that it was necessary to ensure equal rights and protections for all citizens, regardless of race.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was closely related to the Second Freedmen's Bureau Act of the same year and was part of the federal policy during Reconstruction. It laid the groundwork for the Fourteenth Amendment, which further defined citizenship and equal protection under the law, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which addressed voting rights.

Fourteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, abolished slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This amendment was the culmination of a long process that began with the Thirteenth Amendment, which only addressed slavery indirectly through the Three-Fifths Compromise. The Fugitive Slave Clause further emphasised the legal status of slaves, even in non-slavery states.

The Thirteenth Amendment was preceded by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War in 1862, which freed slaves in the secessionist Southern states. However, it did not end slavery nationwide, particularly in border states loyal to the Union. Lincoln recognised that a constitutional amendment was necessary to guarantee the abolition of slavery, and he played an active role in ensuring its passage through Congress.

The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865, by the required number of states, marking a significant milestone in American history. It provided a final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery, declaring that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States or any place under its jurisdiction. This amendment, along with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, collectively known as the Civil War Amendments, greatly expanded the civil rights of Americans, particularly those who had been enslaved.

While the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, it did not address the broader issues of racism and inequality that persisted, particularly in the South. Southern culture remained deeply racist, and newly freed slaves faced significant challenges, including discriminatory laws and a lack of economic opportunities. This ongoing struggle for equal rights and protection under the law led to the enactment of subsequent amendments, such as the Fourteenth Amendment, which defined citizenship and mandated equal protection, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which addressed voting rights.

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