the United States Const. Amendment XIII | Constitution of the United States — Amendment XIII

Publisher edition notice: This collection preserves the original 1787 Constitution and all 27 ratified amendments from the National Archives' historical transcriptions. Superseded original text remains labelled as original text; the two unratified 1789 proposals are preserved in the original publisher assets and are not classified as ratified amendments.

Amendment XIII

AMENDMENT XIII

Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.

Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.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.