An Essay On The 13th Amendment

The amendment I chose is the 13th amendment. It states that all slavery and involuntary servitude shall be abolished, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was ratified on October 6th of 1865. Before the 13th amendment was passed the slave population grew to almost 4 million people in 1861. African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation. As the country continued to grow, the issue of slavery became a dominant national issue.To the southern position slaves could be moved to any state or location since they were in fact considered ‘property’.

Because of the slaves being allowed to be moved to different territories this caused thousands of families to be separated. African Americans were taken from their homes. They were brought to slave ships and sold as slaves. In these slave ships many died of the diseases that were roaming around the ship, Those who died were thrown …show more content…
Couples decided to renew their vows. Those who weren’t married decided to marry even if the southern states did not recognize these marriages as legitimate. Many people decided to look for lovers and family members that were separated from them by slave traders. Posters and newspaper ads were seen posted all across the south. When families could not be reunited many people took children of their relatives as their own. A lot of african americans moved and looked for jobs far away from the white land parts that they had been enslaved in. Many moved for the reason that they felt that they would never know freedom if they did not leave. As newly freed people took on a new chapter in their lives some decided to change their names and be called ‘mr’ and ‘mrs’ out of respect. Today there is still major cases of racism and human trafficking but i’d like to take a moment and appreciate the fact that something so horrible as slavery no longer exists