What states did not ratify the 13th Amendment?
Asked by: Otha Monahan | Last update: February 19, 2026Score: 4.9/5 (16 votes)
While the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified in 1865, Delaware, Kentucky, and Mississippi were the states that initially rejected it, with Mississippi later becoming the last state to symbolically ratify it in 2013, though it was legally binding even without their later approval. Other states, like New Jersey, initially rejected it but changed their minds, while some Southern states never formally ratified as they were not considered part of the Union at the time.
Why did Kentucky not ratify the 13th Amendment?
Prominent politicians and other public figures harshly criticized President Lincoln and members of Congress, and the Kentucky legislature expressed their disapproval of the amendment's adoption by politically siding with the former Confederacy throughout the post-Civil War era.
Why did Mississippi not ratify the 13th Amendment?
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.
Did all states immediately accept the 13th Amendment?
The proposed amendment required ratification by 27 of 36 states before it became binding. Illinois was first to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment on February 1 followed by 17 more states by the end of the month. Sadly, it did not pass that threshold before Lincoln's assassination in April.
What was the last state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment?
Mississippi was the final state to ratify the 13th Amendment in 1995. Today in Georgia History. A joint collaboration of the Georgia Historical Society & Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Four US States That Didn't Ratify The 13th Amendment In 1865
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.
Which U.S. state was the last to abolish slavery?
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.
What are the loopholes in 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.
How many states allowed slavery?
The Slave States During the Civil War
On the eve of the Civil War in 1860, there were a total of 34 states in the United States of America. Nineteen of those states were Free States and 15 of those were Slave States. The states of Maryland, Tennessee, and Missouri all abolished slavery during the Civil War.
What states did not ratify the Constitution?
Only two states initially refused to ratify the U.S. Constitution: North Carolina and Rhode Island, though both eventually joined the Union after the new government was formed, with Rhode Island being the very last in May 1790. North Carolina delayed ratification due to concerns about a Bill of Rights, while Rhode Island's resistance stemmed from fears of centralized power and economic issues.
Are black families still living on the plantations in Mississippi?
Yes, Black families continue to live on former plantations in Mississippi, often in generational homes, though conditions vary, with some residents working elsewhere while still calling the land home, while efforts focus on preserving Black farming traditions amidst an aging demographic. While many plantations are now tourist sites or private residences for descendants of original owners, Black families have remained on these lands, sometimes facing poverty but holding deep ties to the history, with research highlighting how some lived in near-servitude well into the 20th century.
Which southern state was the last to free slaves?
Confederate States:
See a state-by-state timeline of Emancipation below, ending with the June 19, 1865 announcement in Galveston, Texas, which is widely acknowledged as the final end to slavery in the United States.
What state abolished slavery in 2013?
On February 7, 2013 confirmation came that the Archives had received the official ratification. Finally, with all paperwork troubles aside, Mississippi outlawed slavery and the Thirteenth Amendment was “unanimously” ratified.
What was the first state to not have slavery?
On July 2, 1777, Vermont became the first state to abolish slavery fully. Its 1777 Constitution outlawed “holding anyone by law to serve any person” as a servant, slave, or apprentice after he or she reached twenty-one years of age. In 1780, Pennsylvania passed a law gradually abolishing slavery.
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 " ...
Why did New Jersey reject the 13th Amendment?
Even with the outcome of the Civil War apparent to all, the New Jersey legislature initially refused to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment in March 1865. Although some legislators were concerned about the constitutionality of the process, others feared that passage would increase the immigration of blacks to the state.
Which president had 600 slaves?
Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President and author of the Declaration of Independence, enslaved over 600 Black people throughout his life, the most of any U.S. president, with many working at his Monticello plantation and also in the White House. Jefferson's life presented a paradox, as he championed liberty while holding hundreds in bondage, a contradiction highlighted by the enslaved individuals who served him.
What state forgot to ban slavery?
Mississippi lawmakers rejected the 13th Amendment — the law that abolished slavery — at the end of the Civil War. And then the state failed to do anything about it — for the next 130 years.
Which state had no slaves in 1790?
In the 1790 U.S. Census, Maine (then part of Massachusetts) and Massachusetts itself reported zero enslaved people, along with Vermont (which wasn't a state yet but had banned slavery), while other Northern states like New Hampshire and Connecticut had very few, showing the regional divide where slavery was rapidly declining or abolished in the North.
Did the 13th Amendment make African Americans citizens?
Though the Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery in the United States, it did not give citizenship to African-Americans, nor did it give African-American men the right to vote.
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.
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.
Did white people end slavery?
Everyone practised slavery at that time, from the Africans themselves through the Middle East and Asians. White people did it too but it was white people who ended it and otherwise there would still be global slavery.
What was the first state to free slaves?
Well before the Revolutionary War was won, Pennsylvania became the first state to pass an act that gradually abolished slavery.
What was the last country to ban 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.