Slavery was legal in the US until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the 13th Amendment in 1865. The Constitution can be amended, as seen with the Bill of Rights and the 11th and 12th amendments. The issue of slavery led to the Civil War and the secession of Southern states. The Emancipation Proclamation was temporary, so the Slavery Amendment was introduced and passed in 1864 and 1865, becoming the first new amendment in over 60 years.
Slavery was an everyday part of life in many parts of the United States before the Civil War. The legal end of slavery began with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and was followed by the addition of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. Known as the Slavery Amendment, the 13th Amendment legally prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude except when used as punishment for a crime.
The United States, like many nations, is governed by a federal constitution that provides the guiding principles upon which all law must be founded. The founding fathers of the Constitution realized that, while the principles enunciated in the Constitution itself were timeless and important, future changes in the country may require changes or additions to the Constitution. The founding fathers, therefore, provided a mechanism for amending the Constitution. Not long after the original Constitution was signed, the first ten amendments, now known as the Bill of Rights, were added to the Constitution. In 1805, the 11th and 12th amendments were also added.
As the issue of slavery began to divide the country, civil unrest turned into signs of civil war. The North was opposed to slavery while the South, historically dependent on slaves both in and out of the home, felt that slavery was something the government had no right to legislate. Eventually, eleven Southern states seceded in 1860 and declared themselves the Confederate States of America. The following year, the country was embroiled in a full-blown civil war.
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in Southern states who had attempted to secede. The Emancipation Proclamation was made by virtue of the wartime powers vested in the president in times of war. Once the war was over, President Lincoln wisely decided that a real slavery amendment to the Constitution was needed because of his concern that the Emancipation Proclamation was legally only a temporary order effective during wartime. Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation only addressed ten states.
The Slavery Amendment was introduced in the Senate and passed on April 8, 1964. The House of Representatives took another nine months to deliberate and finally passed the Slavery Amendment as well on January 31, 1965. It was officially adopted as the 13th th amendment in December of 1865. The slavery amendment was the first new amendment to the Constitution in over 60 years and ushered in a period known as the Reconstructionist era.
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