Constitution & slavery: what’s the link?

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The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the US, except as punishment for a crime. Before the Civil War, laws protected slavery. The amendment was passed in 1865 and ratified by 30 states. It initiated the relationship between the Constitution and equal rights for all races.

The relationship between the US Constitution and slavery stems from the 13th Amendment, which dealt with the repeal of slavery. The 13th amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, unless it is punishment for a crime. Approved by the Senate on April 8, 1864 and by the House on January 31, 1865, it was adopted on December 6, 1865.
Before the United States was founded in 1776, slavery had existed in North America for more than a century until there was no connection between the Constitution and slavery. In fact, there were an estimated 4 million slaves in the United States in 1860. Slavery became a contentious issue and was widely debated.

During the 1860 presidential election, Republican candidates denounced slavery and Southern Democrats endorsed its continuation. Northern Democrats said people could decide on slavery locally. The Constitutional Union Party has said that everything else should be compromised because the survival of the union is at stake. After Abraham Lincoln won the election, his anti-slavery stance and failure to appear on ballots in 10 Southern states caused the South to secede from the Union, starting the American Civil War.

Before the Civil War, laws relating to slavery protected him. This would remain until December 14, 1864, when James Mitchell Ashley, a Republican from Ohio, introduced a bill to abolish slavery. Congress and the public took note, and as the number of anti-slavery bills began to grow, the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced a proposed amendment to the Senate. After the House rejected a similar proposal, President Lincoln took a more active role in working to get him through the House. He would finally succeed on January 31, 1865, passing by a vote of 119-56.

Beginning with President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, slavery was abolished, and the 13th Amendment made the connection between the Constitution and slavery. The amendment would then be ratified by the legislatures of 30 of the then 36 states by the end of 1865. Iowa, New Jersey, Texas, Delaware, Kentucky and Mississippi would follow, although Mississippi did not ratify it until 1995 – more than a century After.

The Thirteenth Amendment not only made the connection between the Constitution and slavery, it initiated the relationship between the Constitution and equal rights for all races. The 13th Amendment gave blacks civil rights in 14. The 1868th Amendment then outlawed race-based voting restrictions in 15.




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