U.S. Constitution · Amendment XIII · ratified 1865-12-06
Abolition of Slavery
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1 public item cites this provision or its parts · 1 in October 2026 (last month: 0)
Citations per week, last 12 weeks
The text
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Amendment XIII, Section 1 · Punishment Clause
explained
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.
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Amendment XIII, Section 2 · Enforcement Clause
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
National Archives transcription (public domain; original spelling and capitalization). archives.gov
In the founders’ words
- “Hence there is only a question of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the States for their action. And as it is to so go at all events, may we not agree that the sooner the better?” Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1864 (1864-12-06)
- “In this case the common end is the maintenance of the Union, and among the means to secure that end such will, through the election, is most dearly declared in favor of such constitutional amendment.” Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, Fourth Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1864 (1864-12-06)
Public-domain primary sources, quoted word for word and checked against the linked text.
Leading Supreme Court cases
- Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1873)
- Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883)
- Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) · repudiated by Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and later decisions
- Bailey v. Alabama, 219 U.S. 219 (1911)
- Selective Draft Law Cases, 245 U.S. 366 (1918)
- Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968)
Cited in the VFA record
“Where this provision is cited”
grades (1)
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Executive Order 14423: Establishing the United States Space Academy
2026-10-13 · Grade B (Mostly sound)
Roll-call votes are listed when the measure voted on has a current Constitution Index grade citing this provision. Counts include only published items.
Cite this page
Values for America Constitution Explorer, https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution (text: National Archives transcription, public domain), Amendment XIII, https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution/amendment-13
Data: this provision as JSON.