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Key Facts
- Federal level: The Thirteenth Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, subject to its express punishment-for-crime exception.
- Federal level: Section 2 gives Congress power to enforce the Amendment through appropriate legislation.
- Federal level: The Senate approved the proposal 38–6 in 1864, and the House approved it 119–56 in 1865.
- Federal and state: The Amendment became part of the Constitution after the required state ratifications were achieved on December 6, 1865.
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery as a legal institution in the United States and prohibited involuntary servitude, with an express exception for punishment after conviction of a crime. It became part of the United States Constitution in December 1865.
Section 1 contains the substantive prohibition
Section 1 states that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude may exist within the United States or any place subject to its jurisdiction.
The text includes an exception for punishment for a crime when the person has been duly convicted.
Supreme Court doctrine has also recognized narrow historical categories of compulsory public service, including military and jury duties, as outside the Amendment’s general prohibition.
Section 2 gives Congress enforcement authority
Section 2 authorizes Congress to enforce the Amendment by appropriate legislation.
That enforcement provision makes the Amendment more than a statement of principle by assigning a federal legislative power to address prohibited slavery and its legally recognized incidents.
Congressional approval required two votes
The Senate passed the proposed amendment on April 8, 1864, by 38 votes to 6.
The House initially failed to approve the proposal but passed it on January 31, 1865, by 119 votes to 56.
President Abraham Lincoln approved the joint resolution on February 1, although Article V does not assign the President a formal role in proposing constitutional amendments.
Ratification completed the process
A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution after ratification by three-fourths of the states.
The Thirteenth Amendment reached that threshold on December 6, 1865, when Georgia became the twenty-seventh state to ratify it.
