The 13th Amendment

Slavery is abolished — except as punishment for crime, a loophole that enables convict leasing.

Resources

The amendment abolishing slavery, ratified December 6, 1865.

Pulitzer-winning history of convict leasing and re-enslavement after the Civil War.

Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.

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Convict Leasing & Debt Peonage
The amendment's "except as punishment for crime" clause became the loophole for forced prison labor.

The amendment's "except as punishment for crime" clause became the loophole for forced prison labor.