The Thirteenth Amendment and Legalized Slavery

 A discussion board I submitted to my US History class discussing the Missouri Compromise, The Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. A lot of people are unaware that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865 makes slavery legal in case of conviction of a crime. Our current prison systems are taking advantage of this legal loophole to keep people of color in some form of slavery. 

In the long run, all three compromises were ineffective in limiting slavery. We still have legalized slavery in the form of the Thirteenth Amendment, which reads,

"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" ("13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)", n.d.).

So, for all the posturing the Compromises tried to address by keeping an even balance of slave and free states, the government ultimately found a way to keep slavery legal even today. 

But to address the discussion board prompts. The Missouri Compromise was set to admit Missouri into statehood as a slave state even though Missouri was above the 36-degree -30' latitude line. To balance out the free to slave states, they admitted Maine. This way, the slave states would not have an unfair advantage in Congress that could have kept slavery going longer than it did. The Supreme Court declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional three years later, saying that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories. This came about by the Dred Scott Case ("Research Guides: Missouri Compromise: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction," n.d.).

Five laws were passed in 1850 addressing slavery and territorial expansion - The Compromise of 1850. When California wanted to enter the Union in 1849 as a free state, this could have upset the balance between free and slave states. In January 1850, Senator Henry Clay introduced resolutions for compromise to keep the peace between the North and the South. The Compromise amended the Fugitive Slave Act, and the slave trade in Washington DC was terminated. California was admitted as a free state, and Utah created a territorial government. This compromise also settled a dispute regarding boundary lines between Texas and New Mexico. A territorial government was set up in New Mexico ("Research Guides: Compromise of 1850: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction", n.d.).

The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise. It was a document that allowed slavery north of the 36-degree, 30' latitude line and allowed the states to decide if the state would be a slave state or not. This caused violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions and was seen as a precursor to the Civil War. Congress passed the bill in May 1854 ("Research Guides: Kansas-Nebraska Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction," n.d.).

The main focus of all three compromises was to keep an even balance between slave and free states. The Civil War was fought, and Abraham Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which freed the slaves. In 1865, Congress ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. People of color have been catching hell since then. To this day, the South is still a difficult place for people of color, and private prisons continue the practice of slavery legally. Please read the following article for more on the Thirteenth Amendment. 

‘Slaves of the State’: 13th Amendment, mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex | Educating for Democracy

Juneteenth will be celebrated on June 19th. This is a day of celebration as on June 19, 1865, federal troops rode into Galveston Texas to make sure the enslaved people in Texas were finally set free. This was two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and according to whatever you read, slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment. It wasn't though, just given a legal loophole. Funny that while Texas was the last state to free the slaves, it was the first state to make Juneteenth a holiday. Joe Biden make it official in 2021 (Nix, 2021).

References;

13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865). Retrieved 14 June 2022, from https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment#:~:text=Passed%20by%20Congress%20on%20January,slavery%20in%20the%20United%20States.

Clapp, A. (2020). ‘Slaves of the State’: 13th Amendment, mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex | Educating for Democracy. Retrieved 14 June 2022, from https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/civic/2020/09/17/slaves-of-the-state-13th-amendment-mass-incarceration-and-the-prison-industrial-complex/

Nix, E. (2021). What Is Juneteenth?. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth

Research Guides: Compromise of 1850: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://guides.loc.gov/compromise-1850

Research Guides: Kansas-Nebraska Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://guides.loc.gov/kansas-nebraska-act

Research Guides: Missouri Compromise: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction. Retrieved 14 June 2022, from https://guides.loc.gov/missouri-compromise