History Day - U.S. Constitution and Articles of Confederation

Contact Us

Government Information
Reference Services

Thirteenth Amendment - Abolition of Slavery

P.L. 38-11; 13 Stat. 567; P.L. 38-52 13 Stat. 774–775
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
Approved by the 38th Congress (1863–1865) as S.J. Res. 16; ratified by the states on December 6, 1865.

Thirteenth Amendment Abolition of Slavery
Constitution Annotated: "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."

Related Resources

Related Resources

See the Main History Day Guide for related topics and time periods.

History Day
by Jenny Groome Last Updated Nov 3, 2025 2171 views this year

Enslavement & Abolition - National Park Service (NPS)
NPS portal to selected materials on Slavery & Abolition.
Previous versions archived in WayBack Machine at https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000*/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/enslavement/index.htm
Slavery - trending
Library of Congress link to trending search on Slavery

Congress

Additional resources from Congress.

The Senate Passes the Thirteenth Amendment

Connecticut State Library | 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106 | 860-757-6500 * Toll-free 866-886-4478
Disclaimers & Permissions | Privacy Policy | State of Connecticut Home Page

The State of Connecticut is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.