The Thirteenth Amendment

The Text

Section 1. 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.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

What It Says

Slavery and involuntary servitude are abolished, with one stated exception: punishment for a crime after conviction. Congress is given power to enforce the ban.

What It Protects Against

Ownership of persons. The clause also contains its own exception, and that exception has been the subject of sustained legal and historical argument since ratification.

Protocol Media reading. Not sourced to a ratification-era document.

Problem Addressed

Emancipation by executive proclamation applied only to states in rebellion and rested on war powers. A constitutional amendment was required to abolish the institution permanently and everywhere.