The Thirteenth Amendment

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.
The first of the Civil War Amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. This amendment freed all 
slaves and indentured servants throughout the country, not just through the Confederacy as the Emancipation 
Proclamation previously did. This is clearly one of the most important amendments to the Constitution as it ended 
slavery and guaranteed a Northern victory in the Civil War.


This video does a fantastic job of explaining and interpreting each section of the thirteenth amendment. It also explains the 
historical significance of the amendment during the Civil War and Reconstruction period, as it is the first of the three Civil 
War amendments.



This article explains the amendment in a historical context very effectively. It explains how the amendment is different from 
the Emancipation Proclamation, in which all slaves were now freed. It also featured acts necessary to reinforce the amendment 
after its ratification such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

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