Running head: THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT 1

The Thirteenth Amendment

Joshua Nguyen

Salt Lake Community College

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The Thirteenth Amendment

The thirteenth amendment was an amendment that officially abolished slavery in the

United States. It was ratified on December 6, 1865, 8 months after the end of the Civil War. The

amendment states that slavery and indentured servitude will not exist in the United States or

anywhere the United States has jurisdiction (History.com Staff, 2009).

Prior to the establishment of the thirteenth amendment, slavery was a big problem.

Virtually all the southern states still had slavery because it was part of the economy in the South.

The slaves were used for their labor to pick cotton, and the cotton industry was one of the main

drivers of the Souths economy. The North had essentially abandoned slavery long ago. It was

this disagreement that was one of the main reasons the United States had a Civil War. Before the

war, there were disagreements on how new states admitted to the Union would handle slavery.

There were a lot of compromises but eventually the South had enough. Eleven states would

succeed from the Union. The union would not let the states succeed from the union so the Union

declared war on the Confederate States to bring them back.

Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, where

he freed all the slaves in the states that were in active rebellion (US National Archives, 2017).

There were some problems with it though; first, it did not abolish slavery, it only freed the slaves.

Second, Lincoln did not free the slaves or abolish it in the states that were under Confederate

control at the time, because Lincoln only had control of the Union. The Union would eventually

win the war two years after the proclamation, but the process to abolish slavery had already

started (History.com Staff, 2009).

The amendment process started in late 1863 and Early 1864, where bills were introduced

into both the House and Senate. All the bills were similar in that they were trying to abolish
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slavery. The Senate Judiciary Committee worked to put all the bills together into one and have it

passed to the Senate to have it passed (World History Group, 2017). The Senate passed it 38 to 6,

and it was sent to the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, it did not pass there. The House

was full of Democrats, who argued that it was up to the states to decide instead. The amendment

only passed the Senate because it was Republican dominated. Fortunately, Lincoln wanted to

play a more active more in this amendment being passed in the house by making it part his

platform in the Election of 1864. The House did pass it eventually and it was sent to the state

legislatures to have it ratified. On December 6, 1865, the thirteenth amendment was officially

passed and was added to the Constitution. It had become law (World History Group, 2017).

This amendment is important because it marks the end of the bloodiest war in American

history. It basically gave everyone freedom, regardless of your skin color. Of course, segregation

started soon thereafter but the amendment passed meant that you are your own person now. You

have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No one could tell you what to do

anymore. It impacted American history because it marked the end of a dark era. It led the way to

new freedoms found in unprivileged citizens and women. It marked the beginning of a new life

of Americanism after the bloody Civil War.

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References

History.com Staff. (2009). Thirteenth Amendment. Retrieved February 03, 2017, from

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/thirteenth-amendment

US National Archives . (2017). The Emancipation Proclamation. Retrieved February 03, 2017,

from https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation

World History Group. (2017). Thirteenth Amendment. Retrieved February 03, 2017, from

http://www.historynet.com/thirteenth-amendment