Amendment XIII
Abolition of Slavery
Ratified December 6, 1865
The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified eight months after the end of the Civil War, permanently settling the question that had fractured the republic. It is the first Reconstruction Amendment and the first since the Bill of Rights to expand constitutional rights through congressional enforcement power.
Full Text
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.
Annotated Version
The Amendments XI–XXVII document includes phrase highlights and court case references for this amendment.
Constitutional Framework
Original Text
U.S. Constitution
Articles I–VII (1787). The three branches, enumerated powers, and the framework these amendments modify.
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Amendments I–X
Bill of Rights
Ratified December 15, 1791. Freedom of religion, speech, press, arms, due process, and more.
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Amendments XI–XXVII
Later Amendments
Ratified 1795–1992. Abolition of slavery, equal protection, women's suffrage, and more.
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