13th Amendment

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.

The 13th Amendment was designed to abolish slavery. It was adopted on December 6, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln was concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves, so this amendment was necessary. This amendment guarantee that slavery would no longer exist.



Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves in the north, but not the southern slaves. It was at the end of the American Civil War that he delivered this speech to unified the north and south together as one.

http://www.letcher.k12.ky.us/teachers/chall/photos/civilwar/emancipation-proc.jpg



The picture above is from Harper's Weekly in 1865. It depicted even with 13th amendment passed, African Americans are still struggling to fight to civil rights. It won't be until later that African Americans can receive the same privilege with the Caucasian people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EMANCI4.jpg