Abolition of Slavery
R esolution, 38th Congress
of the U.S. submitted to the Legislatures of the Several States
a proposition to amend the Constitution, signed Feb. 1, 1865 by
Abraham Lincoln, signed in the Senate, April 8, 1864, signed in
the House of Representatives, January 31, 1865
Holograph document, February 1, 1865
Manuscript Division
Gift of Robert Todd Lincoln, 1923 (100)
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The Thirteenth Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in
the United States, passed the House of Representatives after easy
passage in the Senate on January 31, 1865. On February 1, President
Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution submitting the proposed
amendment to the state legislatures. This unusual engrossed copy
of the resolution on vellum is signed by Lincoln as well as the
authenticating officers of Congress and the senators and representatives
who voted for its passage.
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