Which amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States, a milestone in America250’s 250-year story?

The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States, a milestone in America250’s 250-year story.

Congress approved the amendment during the final year of the American Civil War. The Senate passed it on April 8, 1864, and the House of Representatives approved it on January 31, 1865, after an earlier attempt had failed. The required number of states ratified it on December 6, 1865, and it was proclaimed part of the Constitution on December 18.

Its text also banned involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime after conviction. That exception later became connected to prison labor and has been the subject of continuing legal and historical debate.

The amendment is different from the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation applied mainly to enslaved people in areas under Confederate control, while the Thirteenth Amendment permanently prohibited slavery nationwide. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted after the Civil War.