13th Amendment Essay

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The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865 and then ratified on December 6, 1865. Sadly, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before the thirteenth Amendment was officially adopted in December of 1865. However, the amendment was first passed in the House of Senate and later finally passed by the House of Representatives which voted one hundred and nineteen to fifty six. Furthermore, this amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished slavery in the United States of America and other places under their jurisdiction. The Thirteenth Amendment declared 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 …show more content…

Moreover, Lincoln believed that slavery was iniquitous and used the abolition of slavery to lure people, mostly African Americans, to help him win the war. As a result, thousands of slaves escaped to the North and join the Northern Armies. In Addition, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation after his victory to explain that all slaves in rebellious states will be free for eternity. The thirteenth Amendment was an amazing starting point of freedom for enslaved African -Americans everywhere. The Thirteenth Amendment opened doors to improve the rights of African-American society. For example, the fourteenth amendment was passed in 1868 and the fifteenth amendment was passed in 1870. The fourteenth amendment gave assurance to the African-American society that they would have citizenship rights, that the federal government would enforce “equal protection of the laws, and the state could not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Also, the fifteenth amendment guaranteed the rights of African- American men