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POLS 1100- The XIII Amendment: Why?

The XIII Amendment: What could have been?

Valerie Perez
POLS 1100
7/01/2021
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POLS 1100- The XIII Amendment: Why?

The XIII Amendment: Why?

Amendment XIII abolished slavery and involuntary service, except as punishment for a

crime. The Amendment also invoked to power Congress to make laws against modern forms of

slavery like sex trafficking. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation

Proclamation declaring that the enslaved in the Confederate-controlled states were free. The

Union Army was out trying to liberate all enslaved people in states that were still in rebellion.

On June 19, 1865, US Union Army general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas ending

the Civil War and the end of slavery with the Union taking the victory from the confederates.

The Senate passed the amendment in April 1864, but the House did not. President

Lincoln took an active role to ensure passage through congress. Lincoln insisted the passage of

the 13th amendment to be added to the Republican Party platform for the upcoming

Presidential elections. Success happened when the House of Representatives passed the bill in

January 1865 votes of 119-56. Twenty-seven of the then Thirty-six states voted on passing the

XIII Amendment on January 31, 1865. Hatred and resentment grew in some southerners leading

to John Wilkes Booth’s was an advocate of the slave system to do and he was plotting one of

the biggest crimes in history. Booth’s hatred grew more towards the abolitionist and Lincoln,
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determined to get rid of Lincoln and his fellow Vice President Andrew Johnson. April 14, 1865,

John Wilkes Booth took out the role to assassinate President Lincoln. Booth sneaked into

Lincolns unguarded private box and shot President Lincoln in the head.

POLS 1100- The XIII Amendment: Why?

Hatred and support over the slave system took the world by surprise. Under

reconstruction policies all the southern states would enact their own “black code laws” in 1865

to 1866 granted certain freedoms to African Americans. My thought

process on “black code laws” was a tactic used to suppress African Americans. White

supremacy was strong, racism was high, colored violence was in horrible conditions.

Southern states still segregated Whites from Blacks putting limitations on colored

individuals. Individuals were denied equal political rights, including the right to vote, the right to

attend public schools, and the right to equal treatment under the law. For a time, the

Antebellum Era was thriving in agricultural economics but keeping the manufacturing industry

at a low. Southern states relied on having trade to make money and not having slaves was a

huge downfall to productivity on producing goods to sell. Having slaves in the south was then

used as a social status. The more you had the higher the political status was. Equality was

something to come in the US slowly, but surely.

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POLS 1100- The XIII Amendment: Why?

Black Codes obtained from

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-codes

Antebellum Era received from

https://wams.nyhistory.org/a-nation-divided/antebellum/

Emancipation Proclamation

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

Juneteenth, the Evolution of American Slavery, and Important Lessons for Black

Muslims

https://americanmuslimtoday.com/details/2a8ad640-bedc-482d-bb57-a84c81ccc8a3