Which states did not ratify the 13th Amendment?
Asked by: Mattie Simonis | Last update: August 24, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (63 votes)
Two Union states, Delaware and New Jersey, had already rejected the 13th Amendment, as had two Southern states, Kentucky and Mississippi. Three Western states, Iowa, California and Oregon, as well as Florida and Texas, had yet to vote on it.
What states refused to ratify the 13th Amendment?
The exceptions were Kentucky and Delaware, and to a limited extent New Jersey, where chattel slavery and indentured servitude were finally ended by the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865.
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.
Did Texas ratify the 13th Amendment?
Eighteen states ratified it very shortly after Congress formally approved it. After much delay by the former Confederate states, it was ratified by the minimum of twenty-seven of the thirty-six states on December 6, 1865. Texas did not formally ratify the 13th Amendment until February 18, 1870.
Why didn't Mississippi ratify the 13th Amendment?
The state rejected the Amendment on December 5, 1865 because lawmakers were unhappy they had not been reimbursed for the value of freed slaves.
Four US States That Didn't Ratify The 13th Amendment In 1865
How many states voted against the 13th Amendment?
Still, 27 of the 36 states had to ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution, and some of those states had been in rebellion during the Civil War. Lincoln and the Radical Republicans struggled to get the House to pass the amendment, but they finally succeeded in securing a 119–56 vote.
Why did Delaware reject the 13th Amendment?
Delaware was a slave state on the Mason-Dixon line. All efforts to abolish slavery in Delaware prior to the Civil War failed due to a small number of Delawareans who were slave owners with an outsized political influence. The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to the Confederate States.
Who opposed the 13th Amendment?
In April 1864, the Senate, responding in part to an active abolitionist petition campaign, passed the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery in the United States. Opposition from Democrats in the House of Representatives prevented the amendment from receiving the required two-thirds majority, and the bill failed.
What states did not ratify the 14th Amendment?
The three states that rejected the Amendment before later ratifying it were Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The two states that ratified the Amendment and later sought to rescind their ratifications were New Jersey and Ohio.
When did Georgia ratify the 13th Amendment?
On December 6, 1865, nearly twelve months after President Lincoln had ceremoniously signed the document, Georgia became the 27th state to ratify the 13th Amendment. The three-quarters of the states needed to make the amendment law had finally been reached, and shortly afterward Seward made his historic announcement.
Who was the last state to free slaves?
Juneteenth honors the date, June 19, 1865, when the last Confederate community of enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, received word that they had been freed from bondage. Union General Gordon Granger led the unit in Galveston who would ensure the proclamation was enforced.
What states didn't vote for the Constitution?
North Carolina: November 21, 1789. Rhode Island: May 29, 1790 (Rhode Island did not hold a Constitutional Convention.)
What was the last state to abolish slavery in 2013?
Nearly 20 years later, in late 2012, two Mississippi residents discovered that the ratification was not yet official and notified the secretary of state. Several weeks later, the required paperwork was filed, and Mississippi's ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment was legally recorded on February 7, 2013.
Did all 13 states have to agree to ratify the Constitution?
Under Article VII, it was agreed that the document would not be binding until its ratification by nine of the 13 existing states. Hamilton and James Madison led the lobbying efforts for votes in favor of ratifying the Constitution.
How did Southern states avoid the 13th Amendment?
In 1865 and 1866 southern states pass "Black Codes" which were laws to restrict the freedom of Blacks in the region. In the north these codes were viewed as a way to get around the 13th amendment and to allow slavery to exist under a different name.
What is the only exception to the 13th Amendment?
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "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 state did not ratify the 13th Amendment?
On July 28, 1868, Secretary Seward certified without reservation that the Amendment was a part of the Constitution. In the interim, two other states, Alabama on July 13 and Georgia on July 21, 1868, had added their ratifications. The Amendment was rejected (and not subsequently ratified) by Kentucky on January 8, 1867.
What are the six unratified amendments?
These unratified amendments address the size of the U.S. House (1789), foreign titles of nobility (1810), slavery (1861), child labor (1924), equal rights for women (1972), and representation for the District of Columbia (1978).
Which 3 states did not ratify the Constitution?
The Constitution encountered stiff opposition. The vote was 187 to 168 in Massachusetts, 57 to 47 in New Hampshire, 30 to 27 in New York, and 89 to 79 in Virginia. Two states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, refused to ratify the new plan of government.
What states voted for the 13th Amendment?
These included Oregon on December 8, 1865, California on December 19, 1865, Florida on December 28, 1865, and Iowa on January 15, 1866. Four states initially rejected the amendment but later ratified it. These were New Jersey, Delaware, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Was the 13th Amendment ever challenged?
In several consolidated cases, known as Arver v. United States , plaintiffs challenge the government's right to draft men for military service as a violation of the 13th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 13th Amendment does not protect citizens from mandatory military service in times of war.
Which Amendment took the shortest amount of days to be ratified?
Next came the amendments that took the least and most time to become part of the Constitution. The 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age to 18, was ratified in 100 days in 1971—in time for the 1972 election. That compares to the 73,009 days it took for that original second amendment, now the 27th Amendment.
Which state was the last to free slaves?
Dating back to 1865, Juneteenth commemorates the day when 250,000 slaves in the state of Texas, which became the last bastion for slavery during the final days of the Civil War, were declared free by the U.S. Army.
Which president did not own slaves?
Twelve U.S. presidents owned slaves at some point in their lives; of these, eight owned slaves while in office. Ten of the first twelve American presidents owned slaves, the only exceptions being John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, neither of whom approved of slavery.
What states never had slavery?
Yes. Slavery was never legal in Vermont, never legal in the Northwest Territories and the five states created from it, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Slavery was never legal in Iowa, Minnesota, California, Oregon or Nevada. Kansas was admitted as a free state.