Abolition! - The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States...

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and
involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
Before the 13th amendment, slavery had been tacitly protected in the Constitution through
clauses such as the Three-Fifths Compromise. While many slaves had been declared free by
President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, their post-war status was
uncertain. On April 8, 1864, the Senate passed an amendment to abolish slavery, and although
the bill was originally struck down by the House of Representatives, President Lincoln played an