the 13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment was passed by the Congress on January 31, 1865, ratified by the United States on December 6, 1865. The text of the 13th Amendment will be found in the United States Statutes at Large, this is where it is further stated that "Neither slavery not involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been dully convicted, shall exists within the states, or any place subject to their jurisdiction". Essentially, this means that this amendment caused slavery to be banned in the United States. The 13th Amendment is often something that is confused with the Emancipation Proclamation. I found that in 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which stated "all 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". Unlike the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation did not completely abolish slavery, and was recognized that more action would have to be taken place to completely rid of this issue such as a constitutional amendment, thus leading to the 13th Amendment. 

Here is an image of a political cartoon from the time period of 1865. This explains how Abraham Lincoln first had the idea of completely abolishing slavery, but did not at the time have the full power to do so. 

Sources:

Primary Documents in American History is where I found my primary source of the actual text of this amendment, along with its' meaning and important dates.

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution is where I received my information on the contrast between the 13th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Abraham Lincoln's Classroom is where I found the image of my political cartoon.