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The 13th Amendment

Rights from the 13th Amendment

By Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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The 13th Amendment had passed on April 8th, 1864, and then by the House on April 8th, 1865. The 13th Amendment then became about the abolition of forced slavery or labor regarding involuntary servitude except as a punishment for a crime. On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified. By December 18th, 1865, this amendment had been adopted into the Constitution overall by the states who agreed with the basic weight behind this amendment, to abolish slavery or indentured servitude. After the American Revolution, states had divisions on whether they allowed slavery or not.

The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed the slaves from servitude but the Three-Fifth’s Compromise was devised to further oppress them all the while granting those with white privilege use the slave count to give themselves more seats in the House of Representatives. Even if slavery was abolished, other situations prevented ex-slaves to become more assimilated into the general population where getting a job was one way to make money with fair pay, more or less. Congress was supposed to have the authority to exercise this Amendment within the United States or countries subject to their jurisdiction.

This Amendment only applies to the actions of private citizens and has always done that although with modern slavery being referred to as sex trafficking, among other forms. Slaves were considered property by white supremacists that were unwilling to give up their racist ideas even as President Abraham Lincoln had managed to find a way to make sure to abolish slavery in general. The southern States then relied on Jim Crow laws or enforcing involuntary segregation while the Northern States did agree with Emancipation. The 13th Amendment was the First Amendment of its kind in human history because slavery used to be seen as a normal situation until President Lincoln decided to abolish slavery.

There were debates between abolitionists who felt the races should be kept separate while others felt that the races should be integrated. Glaring divisions from a slave state or a free state arose in the years after Emancipation. This is because the slavery system had no idea what to do with freed slaves. This is also why income brackets exist since today we are all slaves to our job or our money. Slavery was ruled unconstitutional but corporations arose out of evolutionary need. The Southern States did not want to free the slaves, or later in the 1960s, integrate public schools.

The 13th Amendment abolishing the act of slavery was passed 38 to 6 on April 8th, 1864. To pass a bill these days, a representative sponsors bill and then a bill has to pass by significant majority rules. Then when the bill moves to the Senate, a bill is assigned to another committee, with 51 of 100 meaning a bill passes, with majority votes. Both House and Senate members work out their differences if that is even possible with the current administration. The bill then goes in for final approval. The Government Printing Office is what prints the bill in a process called enrolling. The President then has 10 days to sign or veto the enrolled bill. If a bill can pass legislation, that bill then becomes law.

Bills passed in the Senate require a two-thirds majority to pass and are the ultimate step in the legislative process coming to a head. There are several kinds of votes, a roll call vote, a voice vote, and a division or standing vote. The President causes the tie-winning vote. Voice votes have to do with the presiding officer asking those in favor of “yea” or those opposed to “nay.”

Works Cited

https://www.house.gov/the-house-explained/the-legislative-process

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiii

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution.

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About the Creator

Iria Vasquez-Paez

I have a B.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State. Can people please donate? I'm very low-income. I need to start an escape the Ferengi plan.

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