Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery nationwide?

The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery nationwide in the United States.

Congress passed the amendment on January 31, 1865, and the required number of states ratified it on December 6, 1865. Its first section prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime after conviction.

The amendment followed the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln issued in 1863. That wartime proclamation applied to enslaved people in areas rebelling against the Union, while the Thirteenth Amendment established a constitutional prohibition across the entire country.

The amendment also gave Congress power to enforce its provisions through appropriate legislation. This enforcement clause became important in later federal efforts against slavery-like practices and forced labor.

The Fourteenth Amendment addressed citizenship and equal protection, and the Fifteenth Amendment addressed voting rights for men regardless of race. Those amendments are related but did not themselves abolish slavery.