How does the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution abolish slavery?
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishes slavery in the United States. The Amendment was ratified on December 18, 1865 and declared that “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.” In essence, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished the practice of slavery and all associated forms of cruel and unusual servitude in the United States. This Amendment made slavery illegal in the United States and its territories, meaning that it invalidated any existing laws that allowed slavery. The Amendment protected everyone from this kind of servitude, except for those who had been lawfully convicted of a crime. In Hawaii, the Thirteenth Amendment effectively ended the practice of indentured servitude, a form of slavery practiced by some plantation owners in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Plantation owners had used this system to bring people from different parts of the world, most notably from the Pacific Islands, to work in their fields. Furthermore, the Amendment gave the United States government the authority to enforce the Amendment’s provisions through the US legal system. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution outlawed slavery in the United States and its territories, including Hawaii. The Amendment was meant to protect people from cruel and unusual servitude, and it granted the US government the power to enforce its provisions. The Amendment was a major milestone in American history, providing a legal basis for the abolishment of slavery throughout the US.
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