13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The
13th Amendment to the Constitution declared that "Neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist within
the United States." Formally abolishing slavery in
the United States, the 13th Amendment was passed by the
Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states
on December 6, 1865.
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Congress Web Site | External Web
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Bibliography
Abraham
Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
John
Nicolay sent Lincoln a telegram reporting passage
of the 13th Amendment by Congress on January 31, 1865. Search the
Abraham Lincoln Papers using the phrase "13th
amendment" to locate additional documents on this
topic
A
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
The
Senate debated and passed the 13th Amendment on
April 8, 1864, by a vote of 38 to 6. After initially
rejecting the legislation, the House
of Representatives finally passed the 13th Amendment
on January 31, 1865, by a vote of 119 to 56. On
February 1, 1865, President
Abraham Lincoln signed a Joint Resolution submitting
the proposed 13th Amendment to the states. Finally,
on December 18, 1865, Secretary
of State William Seward issued a statement
verifying the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Search
in the 38th Congress to find additional information on
the 13th Amendment.
From
Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection,
1822-1909
Includes speeches by T.B.
Van Buren and Gen.
Hiram Walbridge given during the ratification process
of the 13th Amendment in the New York House of Assembly.
Also found within this collection is a report issued
by the Union
League Club of New York recommending the approval
of the 13th Amendment.
The
Nineteenth Century in Print
Contains an article
written by John Hay and John Nicolay, Lincoln's
private secretaries, that discusses the history of
the 13th Amendment. Also includes an article in the Continental
Monthly that examines the initial rejection of
the 13th Amendment by the House of Representatives
in 1864.
The
African-American Mosaic
This exhibit marks the publication of The African-American
Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the
Study of Black History and Culture. This exhibit is a
sampler of the kinds of materials and themes covered
by this publication. Includes a section on the abolition movement
and the end of slavery.
African
American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
This exhibition showcases the African American collections
of the Library of Congress. Displays more than 240 items,
including books, government documents, manuscripts, maps,
musical scores, plays, films, and recordings. Includes
a brochure from an exhibit at the Library of Congress
to mark the 75th
Anniversary of the 13th Amendment.
American
Treasures of the Library of Congress: Abolition of Slavery
An online exhibit of the engrossed copy of the 13th
Amendment as signed by Abraham Lincoln and members of
Congress.
The Collected
Works of Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Association
The
Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis
and Interpretation, Government Printing Office
Documents
from Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation,
1861-1867, University of Maryland
End of Slavery:
The Creation of the 13th Amendment, HarpWeek
“I
Will Be Heard!” Abolitionism in America, Cornell
University Library, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Mr.
Lincoln and Freedom, The Lincoln Institute
Our
Documents, 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
National Archives and Records Administration
Hoemann, George H. What God Hath
Wrought: The Embodiment of Freedom in the Thirteenth
Amendment. New York: Garland
Pub., 1987. [Catalog
Record]
Maltz, Earl M. Civil Rights, the
Constitution, and Congress, 1863-1869. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas,
1990. [Catalog
Record]
Vorenberg, Michael. Final Freedom:
The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth
Amendment. Cambridge;
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. [Catalog
Record]
Schleichert, Elizabeth. The Thirteenth
Amendment: Ending Slavery. Springfield, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, 1998. [Catalog
Record]
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