1865: Thirteenth Amendment Passed

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On December 18, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in Congress. The amendment effectively abolished slavery, stating in section one, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."^[1] At the outset of the Civil War, slavery was not the crux issue of secession. As the war progressed, however, the idea of emancipating slaves grew more popular among Northerners and abolitionists alike. Abolitionists supported the notion for obvious reasons, but for their part, non-abolitionist Northerners saw emancipation as a means to weaken the Confederacy and bring the war to a close ^[2]. The document itself was the first amendment to the United States Constitution that brought about radical change to society. Previous amendments focused solely on changing election rules or limiting the power of the government ^[3]. The legislation freeing slaves initiated in January 1864, but was not ratified by the states until December 1865. Lincoln himself “said that no state could expect legitimate status in the union without ratification, forcing Southern states to acquiesce upon readmission” ^[4].

Related Sites

1863: Emancipation Proclamation 1864: President Lincoln Re-elected 1865: Freedmen's Bureau Established

SOURCES

^[1]The Constitution of the United States of America, found in The Constitution Of The United States Of America, Analysis and Interpretation, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996), 1453. ^[2] Jones, Terry L.,Historical Dictionary of the Civil War, (Lanham, Maryland, The Scarecrow Press Inc., 2002), 1423-4. ^[3] Ibid, 1424. ^[4] Chronicle of America, 1989 ed., "Amendment Frees Slaves," 397, and Vorenberg, Michael, Final Freedom: The Civil War, Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 54-5.

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