Lincoln's Response To The 13th Amendment

The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution states, “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." What this statement means human beings cannot be held against their will or be forced to do labor no matter their race, sex, or religion. The main exception to this is if they’re convicted of a crime by a jury of their peers. This article prevents slavery and other forms of forced labor. There were many purposes for ending slavery. The reason Lincoln wanted to end slavery was to unite the union for the future. Lincoln believed that the issue of slavery would be an obstacle for the future of our country. Lincoln worked to unite our country and that is what lead to the Thirteenth Amendment to the constitution. Lincoln wanted slavery abolished because he foresaw it as a problem to the future of America. Lincoln thought that if slavery remained in America one day America might divide over slavery. Lincoln was correct …show more content…
African Americans were still treated poorly. Certain hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan would terrorize African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment was to give equal rights to African Americans. Even after the Fourteenth Amendment African Americans were still mistreated. The Fifteenth Amendment was made to give African Americans voting rights. This amendment was not always followed because the Ku Klux Klan would resign near designated voting areas, states could enforce poll taxes that most newly freed slaves could not pay for, and some voting areas enforced literacy tests which were very difficult to pass. African Americans continued to be mistreated without any punishment, until the 1960’s when the Civil Rights Movement occurred. Slavery set African Americans back a great deal and are still today