Eleanor Finch
Mississippi's ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, was a long time coming. In 1865, Mississippi was the first state to pass laws that controlled the work and behaviour of Black people, effectively enforcing slavery-like conditions. The state rejected the 13th Amendment that same year, and again in 1995, when a resolution to ratify it was passed but not filed. It wasn't until 2013 that Mississippi's ratification of the 13th Amendment was officially recorded, 148 years after the amendment was added to the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of ratification | 16 March 1995 |
| Date of certification | 7 February 2013 |
| Number of years after the 13th Amendment was passed | 130 years |
| Reason for delay | Mississippi state officials failed to send the necessary documentation to the federal register |
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What You'll Learn
Mississippi's rejection of the 13th Amendment in 1865
At the time, Mississippi was still reeling from the Civil War and the end of slavery, which had been a cornerstone of its economy. State lawmakers were upset that they had not been compensated for the value of their freed slaves. Additionally, there was a concern among politicians in the South that Congress might use the amendment's enforcement powers to authorize black suffrage, further upsetting the racial power dynamics in the state.
Mississippi's rejection of the 13th Amendment was not without consequences. The state became an outlier, as the amendment was ratified by all the other states that existed at the time of its adoption. In 1869, the Mississippi Legislature did adopt a bill abolishing slavery, which became part of the state's constitution. However, the failure to ratify the 13th Amendment left a stain on Mississippi's reputation and symbolized its resistance to racial equality.
It wasn't until March 16, 1995, that Mississippi finally took steps to rectify its past rejection of the 13th Amendment. After a clerk in the Texas Legislature named Gregory Watson discovered the oversight in 1994, he notified the Black members of the Mississippi Legislature. With their support, the Mississippi Legislature unanimously voted to ratify the abolition of slavery, in a largely symbolic gesture. However, the state officials once again failed to send the necessary documentation to the federal register, and the ratification was not officially recorded until February 7, 2013.
The long journey towards officially ratifying the 13th Amendment in Mississippi reflects the complex and often painful racial history of the state. While the legal implications of the ratification were minimal, the symbolic significance was immense, representing a step towards acknowledging past injustices and moving towards racial reconciliation.
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Mississippi's ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1995
On February 7, 1995, Mississippi officially ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, nearly 130 years after the Amendment's original ratification in 1865. Mississippi's delay in ratifying the Amendment was due in large part to the state's complex racial politics and a lingering resistance to the Reconstruction-era reforms imposed on the former Confederate states.
The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified later that year on December 6. However, in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, Mississippi and other former Confederate states were in a state of flux, with new state governments being formed and the federal government imposing military rule. As a result, Mississippi did not take up the question of ratifying the 13th Amendment until 1867 when a state constitutional convention was held.
During the 1867 convention, a majority of delegates voted in favor of ratifying the 13th Amendment. However, this ratification was never officially communicated to the U.S. government due to a series of bureaucratic errors and political disputes within the state. In the years that followed, Mississippi adopted a new constitution and was readmitted to the Union in 1870 without any official record of its ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Despite the lack of official ratification, Mississippi operated as if the 13th Amendment were part of the Constitution. The state passed laws and amended its own constitution to comply with the Amendment's provisions. It was not until the early 1990s that the issue of Mississippi's ratification was brought to light by a group of students researching the state's constitutional history.
In 1995, the Mississippi State Senate passed a resolution confirming the state's ratification of the 13th Amendment, and this resolution was communicated to the U.S. Office of Federal Register. With this action, Mississippi finally and officially ratified the 13th Amendment, bringing closure to one of the more unusual chapters in the state's constitutional history.
The event highlighted the complex and often contentious history of race relations in Mississippi and the ongoing struggle for equal rights and social justice.
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The 13th Amendment's abolition of slavery
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery in the United States. The amendment states 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." This amendment was the culmination of a long process of abolishing slavery in the country, which had begun decades earlier.
In the first few decades of the United States' existence, every state in the North had either completely eradicated slavery or provided avenues for slaves to emancipate themselves. However, no such offerings were made in the Southern states, where the majority of slave labour was concentrated. President Lincoln recognised that a constitutional amendment was necessary to guarantee the abolition of slavery. On February 1, 1865, he approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures.
The 13th Amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War, before the Southern states had rejoined the Union. The Senate approved it in April 1864, but the House initially did not. By December 6, 1865, the required number of states (27 out of 33) had ratified the amendment. The 13th Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments that significantly expanded the civil rights of Americans.
Mississippi, however, was one of several Southern states that refused to endorse the 13th Amendment. On December 5, 1865, the Mississippi state legislature voted against ratification. It was not until March 16, 1995, that Mississippi finally ratified the amendment, becoming the last of the eligible states to do so. The ratification was officially certified and accepted into the Constitution on February 7, 2013.
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The 1995 ratification's lack of official filing
In 1995, it came to light that Mississippi had never officially ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, despite having approved it in 1995. This came to attention due to a civil rights attorney's discovery while researching for an unrelated case. The state had passed a resolution approving the amendment in 1995, but the ratification was never officially certified or communicated to the US Archivist or the US Secretary of State, which are the required steps to finalize the process.
This oversight is attributed to a series of administrative errors and a lack of standardized procedures at the time. In the post-Civil War era, there was no set process for states to follow in ratifying constitutional amendments, and it was common for ratifications to be communicated informally through letters or other unofficial means. In the specific case of Mississippi and the 13th Amendment, it appears that the state simply neglected to send formal notification of its ratification to the federal government.
The issue was rectified in 1995, when Mississippi's Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 567 was passed, which ratified the 13th Amendment "in accordance with the customary procedures of the State of Mississippi in effect at the time of the original ratification." This resolution was then officially certified and forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register, where it was published in the Federal Register and the US Code.
While the lack of official filing in 1865 may have been an administrative oversight, some scholars argue that it symbolically reflects the complex and contentious history of race relations in Mississippi. The state has a long history of resistance to racial equality and a legacy of segregation and discrimination that persisted well beyond the ratification of the 13th Amendment. The informal nature of the original ratification process may have contributed to a lack of recognition and implementation of the amendment's provisions in the state.
The 1995 resolution and its formal certification ensured that Mississippi's ratification was officially recognized and that any potential legal ambiguities were resolved. This event also highlighted the importance of standardized procedures and record-keeping in the constitutional amendment process, helping to prevent similar oversights from occurring in the future. It serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for racial equality and the need for constant vigilance in upholding the principles enshrined in the Constitution.
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Mississippi's final ratification in 2013
On February 7, 2013, Mississippi officially ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, nearly 150 years after the amendment was first adopted and ratified by the required three-fourths of the states. Mississippi's ratification occurred as a result of efforts by a civil rights activist and a university professor who discovered that the state had never officially ratified the amendment.
The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1865 and ratified later that year, but Mississippi, having seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America, did not participate in the ratification process at that time. After the Civil War, during the Reconstruction era, Mississippi took steps toward ratification. In 1995, a history professor at the University of Mississippi, Dr. Ranjan Batra, discovered that the state had never officially completed the ratification process. He brought this to the attention of civil rights activist and former state legislator Irma Watkins-Owens.
Watkins-Owens took up the cause and worked to rectify the oversight. She contacted her state senator, Cynthia Harden, and requested that a resolution be introduced to finally ratify the 13th Amendment. The resolution was introduced and passed unanimously by the Mississippi Senate on January 31, 2013, and by the House of Representatives on February 6, 2013. The following day, February 7, Governor Phil Bryant signed the resolution, and Mississippi officially ratified the 13th Amendment.
This event highlighted the importance of ensuring that all legal procedures are properly followed, even if they are long overdue. It also served as a reminder of the complex and often troubled racial history of the United States and the long struggle for civil rights. The late ratification also raised questions about the potential legal implications and whether it could impact any current laws or cases. However, legal scholars generally agreed that the ratification had no practical effect on the amendment's validity or on any other legal matters.
The process of Mississippi's final ratification also drew attention to the often-overlooked role of state legislatures in the constitutional amendment process. It served as a reminder that, despite the passage of time, official procedures must be followed to ensure the integrity of the constitutional framework and the rule of law. The story of Mississippi's ratification is a testament to the perseverance of individuals like Dr. Batra and Watkins-Owens, who worked to ensure that their state's role in the abolition of slavery was officially recognized, even if it was well after the fact.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Mississippi ratified the 13th Amendment on March 16, 1995, and it was certified on February 7, 2013.
Mississippi was the first state to pass Black Codes, which created a separate set of laws, punishments, and acceptable behaviors for anyone with more than one Black great-grandparent. The state legislature voted against ratification on December 5, 1865, becoming one of several Southern states that refused to endorse the 13th Amendment.
In 1994, a clerk in the Texas Legislature named Gregory Watson discovered that Mississippi had not ratified the 13th Amendment. He notified Black members of the Mississippi legislature and sent them a draft resolution. Additionally, two Mississippi residents, Dr. Ranjan Batra and Ken Sullivan, watched the film "Lincoln" and embarked on research that led them to discover that Mississippi had never officially ratified the amendment.
Mississippi's ratification of the 13th Amendment was largely symbolic as slavery had already been abolished in the state since 1865. However, it meant that all 50 states had finally ratified the amendment, officially recognizing the abolition of slavery in the US.
For an amendment to be added to the US Constitution, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (27 out of 36 states at the time of the 13th Amendment). The 13th Amendment was ratified by the required number of states in December 1865, but Mississippi's ratification came much later in 1995 due to the reasons mentioned earlier.
