Thirteenth Amendment Abolishes Slavery

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on December 6, 1865, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States — except as punishment for crime. The exception clause immediately became the legal basis for convict leasing, chain gangs, and forced labor systems that re-enslaved tens of thousands of Black Southerners in the decades ahead. In the moment, however, four million people were legally free for the first time.