Скачать или смотреть Amendment 13 - Abolition of Slavery and Involuntary Servitude

"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."

Key Clauses Explained

Abolition Clause: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States…”
Formally ended the institution of slavery in the United States and all its territories.
Example: Made unconstitutional all forms of human ownership and coerced labor following centuries of enslavement.

Punishment Exception Clause: “…except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted…”
Allows involuntary servitude only as a lawful punishment for those convicted of crimes.
Example: Gave rise to post-Civil War convict leasing systems, later challenged as exploitative but technically within the constitutional text.

Summary

Ratified December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States, marking one of the most transformative moments in American history. Proposed at the end of the Civil War, it fulfilled the central promise of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) by permanently outlawing slavery in all states and U.S. territories.

The amendment not only destroyed the legal foundation of slavery but also authorized Congress to enforce abolition through legislation. It laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Acts, Reconstruction Amendments (14th and 15th), and the long struggle for racial equality.

Definitions (Key Terms You Might Not Know)

Abolition: The legal ending of a practice or institution — here, the eradication of slavery.

Involuntary Servitude: Forced labor or service under threat of punishment or coercion.

Emancipation Proclamation: 1863 executive order by President Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate territories.

Convict Leasing: System allowing states to lease prisoners for labor, often replicating conditions of slavery.

Reconstruction: Post-Civil War era focused on reintegrating Southern states and ensuring civil rights for freed slaves.

Enforcement Power: Congressional authority to pass laws ensuring the amendment’s implementation.

Court Cases & Historical Context (Most Recent First)

Bailey v. Alabama (1911): Struck down laws criminalizing breach of labor contracts, ruling they violated the prohibition on involuntary servitude.

Clyatt v. United States (1905): Held that peonage (forced labor to pay off debt) was unconstitutional under the Thirteenth Amendment.

The Civil Rights Cases (1883): Limited Congress’s enforcement power under the amendment, striking down parts of the 1875 Civil Rights Act.

Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968): Revived and expanded the amendment’s scope, ruling that Congress could prohibit all forms of racial discrimination in property transactions as a “badge or incident of slavery.”