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The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery, plus (with limited exceptions, such as those convicted of a crime) prohibits involuntary servitude. Prior to its ratification, slavery remained legal only in Delaware and Kentucky; everywhere else in the USA slaves had been freed by state action and the federal government's Emancipation Proclamation. Abraham Lincoln (who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation) and others were concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation would be seen as a temporary war measure, and so, besides freeing slaves in those two states where slavery was still legal, they supported the Amendment as a means to guarantee the permanent abolition of slavery. The amendment was originally co-authored and sponsored by Congressmen James Mitchell Ashley (Republican, Ohio) and James Falconer Wilson (Republican, Iowa) and Senator John B. Henderson (Democrat, Missouri). It was followed by the other Reconstruction Amendments, the Fourteenth (intended to protect the civil rights of former slaves) and Fifteenth (which banned racial restrictions on voting).

The Thirteenth Amendment makes slavery unconstitutional and thus illegal and gives Congress the power to enforce this mandate. It reads in part,"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."

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Q: What is the 13th amendment?
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Related questions

What did the 13th amendment established?

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery.


What was the Constitutional amendment that freed the slaves?

The 13th amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery in the United States and its territories.


When was the 13th amendment outlawing?

The 13th Amendment was outlawing slavery in the United States.


What is forbidden in the 13th amendment?

The 13th amendment officially abolished slavery from the U.S.


What was the 13th amendment attempting to accomplish?

The 13th amendment was established to abolish slavery.


The 13th amendment affect us how?

the 13th amendment abolishes slavery from america


What does the 13th amendment to the US Constitution forbid?

The 13th Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude.


Which constitutional amendment abolished slavery?

Slavery was abolished by an amendment to the Bill of Rights section of the US Constitution. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.


It was outlawed by the 13th amendment?

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the US prohibited slavery.


What document abolished slavery in the US?

It was the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865.


Why didn't Mississippi ratify the 13Th amendment?

Mississippi did ratify the 13th Amendment, but not until 1995. Note: the previous answer, which I deleted because it was frivolous, claimed that the 13th Amendment was declared unconstitutional. The 13th Amendment is part of the constitution; it cannot be "unconstitutional" by definition.


Which amendment aboilished slavery?

The 13th Amendment