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Slavery and the Making of AmericaPicture of the first black U.S. Senator and representatives
Time and Place Slave Memories Resources The Slave Experience

The Slave Experience: Freedom & Emancipation
Intro Historical Overview Character Spotlight Imagining Freedom Personal Narratives Original Docs
Original Documents Freedom & Emancipation

The U.S. Constitution, Thirteenth Amendment
Ratified 1865
Courtesy of National Archives, Washington, DC
www.ourdocuments.gov

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Photo of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
view full-sized image 		Document Description
Unlike the limited Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declared freedom for all persons in the country by declaring slavery illegal. Its passage marked the end of Civil War and a new era for the re-unified nation.

Transcript
Section 1. 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.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

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