13th Amendment Pros And Cons

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advantage, powerful military leaders which served them nicely in the beginning battles. However motivation for equality drove the Union to victory. Although, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and pushed for the 13th amendment, which he believed was crucial for peace, he did not live to see the abolishment of racial prejudice.The 13th Amendment commands that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, exceptas 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." But abolition and legal application of the amendment didn't end racial prejudice and certainly didn't prohibit discrimination. In fact, southern states adopted racist laws on …show more content…

"Pursuant to this reasoning, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, arguing that the abolition of slavery also authorized them to prohibit racial discrimination in contracts, property, and rights in court". (From Racial ... Amendment, Randall) A century later, the Court officially held the Civil Rights Act as an end to racial prejudice and authorized them to prohibit racial discrimination in contracts, property, and rights in court.When Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibiting racial discrimination inpublic accommodations, Justice Harlan said that places of public accommodation such as inns, are required to be open to all and that public discrimination was an incident of slavery. In spite of that, Justice Bradley, member of the Court, wrote for the rest of the Supreme Court that "it would be running the slavery argument into the ground to find the amendment authorized such legislation" (Randall) Unlike the civil rights protected by the Act, Justice Bradley considered public accommodations a social right that was not a badge or incident of