D'jon

Acts, Bills, and Laws, Slavery Abolished - Introduced 1863. Ratified 1865.
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. Thirteenth Amendment the one ending slavery has an interesting story of its own. Passed during the Civil War years, when southern congressional representatives were not present for debate, one would think today that it must have easily passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Not true. As a matter of fact, although passed in April 1864 by the Senate, with a vote of 38 to 6, the required two-thirds majority was defeated in the House of Representatives by a vote of 93 to 65. Abolishing slavery was almost exclusively a Republican party effort--only four Democrats voted for it. 13th amendment importance The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished, and continues to prohibit, slavery, and, with limited exceptions such as those convicted of a crime, prohibits involuntary servitude.
 * Section 1.**
 * Section 2.**
 * Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation A fter approval by the U.S. House of Representatives, the proposed Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery in the United States was sent to the states for ratification. The U.S. Constitution requires that three-quarters of the states officially endorse a proposed amendment before it becomes part of the Constitution. In 1865, most congressmen had assumed, with little public discussion, that former Confederate states would take part in the ratification process. With the war ending on April 9, 1865, that meant that all 11 former Confederate states would be included, so that the proposed abolition amendment needed approval by 27 of the entire 36 states in the Union. Historical Background
 * 1) Plessy v. Ferguson
 * 2) Butler v. Perry (1916)
 * 3) Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer co. (1968)
 * 4) Memphis v. Greene (1981)