What is forbidden by the 13th Amendment?
Asked by: Tanya Bode | Last update: February 15, 2026Score: 4.1/5 (8 votes)
The 13th Amendment forbids slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime for which someone has been duly convicted, within the United States and any place under its jurisdiction, effectively abolishing chattel slavery but allowing for forced labor in correctional facilities. It also grants Congress the power to enforce this prohibition through legislation.
What does the 13th Amendment forbid?
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
What is the loophole of the 13th Amendment?
A loophole still in the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution allows slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. This exception fuels a system where incarcerated people are forced to work for little or no pay, often under threat of punishment, while the state and private companies benefit.
Are there any exceptions to the 13th Amendment?
In the United States, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime of which one has been convicted. In the latter 2010s, a movement has emerged to repeal the exception clause from both the federal and state constitutions.
What does the 13th Amendment mean in kid words?
The 13th Amendment, simplified for kids, is a rule in the U.S. Constitution that says slavery is illegal in America, meaning no one can be forced to be another person's property and forced to work against their will, except as a punishment for a crime they were convicted of. It made sure that all people are free and can make their own choices about who they work for, officially ending the practice of slavery in the United States in 1865.
How the 13th amendment accidentally kept slavery alive. Amendment 13 explained!
Why didn't Democrats support the 13th Amendment?
Democrats, particularly Southern Democrats, largely opposed the 13th Amendment in 1865 due to states' rights concerns, economic reliance on slave labor, and opposition to Black equality, with many voting against or abstaining from the final House vote, though some later supported it after Lincoln's push, seeing the need to end the war and preserve the Union. Their primary reasons were protecting the Southern economy built on slavery, upholding states' rights to manage labor, and a general resistance to Black suffrage and equality, leading to massive opposition in the House before its passage.
What was the biggest impact of the 13th Amendment?
The 1865 ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment was a transformative moment in American history. The first Section's declaration that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist” had the immediate and powerful effect of abolishing chattel slavery in the southern United States.
Which states never ratified the 13th Amendment?
Delaware, Kentucky, and Mississippi were the three states that initially rejected the 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery) and were the last to ratify it, doing so symbolically in the 20th and 21st centuries, long after its official adoption in 1865; New Jersey also initially rejected it but ratified it in early 1866.
What is the loophole in the 13th documentary?
The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves, but the loophole which serves as thesis for the documentary (“except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”) permitted the creation of a new 'criminal' population from which labour could be extracted.
What was the last state to make slavery illegal?
On Feb. 7, 2013, Mississippi certified its ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, making it the last state to officially abolish slavery.
Which of the following did the 13th Amendment declare illegal?
Amendment Thirteen to the Constitution – the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments – was ratified on December 6, 1865. It forbids chattel slavery across the United States and in every territory under its control, except as a criminal punishment.
Who actually ended slavery?
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
What paradox did the Thirteenth Amendment create?
What paradox did the Thirteenth Amendment create? It allowed the South to return with even greater congressional representation than before the war. How did Radical Republicans perceive Lincoln's reconstruction policy? They rejected the Ten Percent Plan and demanded congressional oversight of Reconstruction.
Was slavery still a thing after the 13th Amendment?
The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is recognized by many as the formal abolition of slavery in the United States. However, it only ended chattel slavery – slavery in which an individual is considered the personal property of another.
What does section 2 of the 13th Amendment mean?
Nonetheless, Section 2 of the Amendment grants Congress the power to enforce the Amendment's prohibitions by enacting appropriate legislation.
Is voluntary servitude legal?
No. In the United States, this is prohibited by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which also prohibits indentured servitude that unlike slavery was historically often entered into voluntarily in the colonial era in North America).
What are the violations of the 13th Amendment?
Share this: The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” This exception has significantly impacted prison labor practices in the United States.
What is the criticism of the 13th?
Criticism. Dan Berger of Black Perspectives wrote that 13th was at its best when chronicling the lives of individuals in the American prison system, but said the film "makes several significant factual errors", such as using outdated statistical data and overstating the role of for-profit prisons.
What is the 14th Amendment loophole?
The loophole is made possible by the United States' longstanding policy of granting citizenship to children born within its territorial borders regardless of whether the parents of such children have violated the nation's sovereignty by crossing the border illegally.
Which state forgot to abolish slavery?
The amendment was adopted in December 1865 after the necessary three-fourths of the then 36 states voted in favor of ratification. Mississippi, however, was a holdout; at the time state lawmakers were upset that they had not been compensated for the value of freed slaves.
What did Abraham Lincoln say about the 13th Amendment?
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." That evening, after signing the resolution, Lincoln described the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment as an " ...
Who was the last country to abolish slavery?
The last country to abolish slavery was the African state of Mauritania, where a 1981 presidential decree abolished the practice; however, no criminal laws were passed to enforce the ban. In August 2007 Mauritania's parliament passed legislation making the practice of slavery punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Which president signed the 13th Amendment?
Thirteenth Amendment and Emancipation
It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The joint resolution of both bodies that submitted the amendment to the states for approval was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865.
Which Amendment has the biggest impact on America?
Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government. The Fourteenth Amendment was a response to issues affecting freed slaves following the American Civil War, and its enactment was bitterly contested.
What is indentured servitude?
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or service (e.g. travel), purported eventual compensation, or debt repayment.