13th Amendment

Bust out your magnifying glass. We're taking an up-close look at 13th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Passed by Congress: 31 January 1865
Ratified: 6 December 1865

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.

The first of the three "Civil War Amendments," the Thirteenth Amendment is pretty straightforward: It bans slavery throughout the United States or its territories.

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