Essay On The 13th Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment had a major role in our history and was one of the most influential Amendments to have ever been passed in our country. “It put slavery to an end in the United States and was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, which gave a formal consent on December 6, 1865 (“Thirteenth Amendment”). Anti Slavery Acts and speeches led to the Thirteenth Amendment, resulting in the Great abolishment of Slavery (“Thirteenth Amendment”). Abraham Lincoln disliked slavery and thought it was wrong in all levels.

He had written a letter to his friend Joshua Speed and had expressed his hatred about slavery, but in the beginning, he did not recommend the emancipation immediately. In his letter to Joshua he wrote, “You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it. So far there is no cause of difference. But you say that sooner than yield your legal right to the slave, especially at the bidding of those who are not themselves interested, you would see the Union dissolved. I am not aware that any one is bidding you to yield that right; very certainly I am not.

I leave that matter entirely to yourself. I also acknowledge your rights and my obligations, under the constitution, in regard to your slaves. I confess I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down, and caught, and carried back to their stripes, and unrewarded toils; but I bite my lip and keep quiet. In 1841 you and I had together a tedious low-water trip, on a Steam Boat from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons.

That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border. It is hardly fair to you to assume, that I have no interest in a thing which has, and continually exercises, the power of making me miserable. You ought rather to appreciate how much the great body of the Northern people do crucify their feelings, in order to maintain their loyalty to the constitution and the Union. I do oppose the extension of slavery, because my judgment and feelings so prompt me; and I am under no obligation to the contrary (Lincoln On Slavery).

From his letter it clearly states that Lincoln despises slavery. The reason I chose this quote from Lincoln’s letter is, because it explains his feelings about slavery which led him to want to start the process to the Thirteenth Amendment. This quote really stands out to me, because Lincoln tells us what he really thinks upon slavery and he despises it. Without Lincoln disliking Slavery and having a problem with it, this Amendment would have never been brought up.

It all started with Lincoln talking about the Amendment in his letters, and to the people about why he dislikes Slavery. Some people had a problem with it, and very few wanted slavery abolished. Latter on the Thirteenth Amendment became ratified eight months after the Civil War ended (13th Amendment Ratified). Although Lincoln had started the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, there were still a lot of situations such as people not agreeing with is and people not wanting to pass this law to end slavery in the United States (13th Amendment Ratified).

The proclamation only freed slaves, it did not formally put an end to slavery (13th Amendment Ratified). At the age of 28, Lincoln served in the Illinois General Assembly, which then made his first public declarations against slavery (Lincoln On Slavery). It was then read to the House which was to be spread on, “December 1863 and January 1864, two bills and a joint resolution were introduced into the House and Senate, all making similar proposals for a Constitutional Amendment abolishing slavery (Lincoln On Slavery).

Unfortunately, the House did not act the same and the amendment had to be reintroduced (Thirteenth Amendment). This time, President Lincoln took a more active role in getting it through the house by making it part of the Republican platform in the upcoming election (Thirteenth Amendment). The House passed it on January 31, 1865, and it was sent to the state legislatures for ratification (Thirteenth Amendment). On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was adopted, and three fourths of the states had ratified it.

All but three of the remaining states had ratified it by 1870 (two of those would not ratify it until the second half of the 20th century): Delaware ratified it on February 12, 1901, Kentucky on March 18, 1976, and Mississippi on March 16, 1995 (Thirteenth Amendment). When the war began, some in the North were against fighting what they saw as a crusade to end slavery. Although many northern Democrats and conservative Republicans were opposed to slavery’s expansion, they were having mixed feelings about outlawing the institution entirely (Thirteenth Amendment Ratified).

The war’s rise after the First Battle of Bull Run, caused many to rethink the role that slavery played in creating the conflic (Freedom’s Dream Deferred). By 1862, Lincoln realized that it was folly to wage such a bloody war without plans to eliminate slavery. “On September 1862, following the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all slaves in territory still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, would be declared forever free (Thirteenth Amendment).

The move was largely symbolic, as it only freed slaves in areas outside of Union control, but it changed the conflict from a war for the reunification of the states to a war whose objectives included the destruction of slavery (Thirteenth Amendment). ” The Senate Judiciary committee worked to combine these proposals and present them to the Senate, which passed the amendment on April 8, 1864, in a 38 to 6 vote (Thirteenth Amendment). A Republican victory in the 1864 presidential election would guarantee the success of the amendment (13th Amendment Ratified).

The Republican platform called for the “utter and complete destruction” of slavery, while the Democrats favored restoration of states’ rights, which would include at least the possibility for the states to maintain slavery (Thirteenth Amendment Ratified). Lincoln’s overwhelming victory set in motion the events leading to ratification of the amendment (13th Amendment Ratified). The House passed the measure in January 1865 and it was sent to the states for ratification (13th Amendment Ratified). When Georgia ratified it on December 6, 1865, the institution of slavery officially ceased to exist in the United States (13th Amendment Ratified).