The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
Think of the Thirteenth Amendment like a key that unlocked the chains of slavery. Just as a key frees someone from physical bondage, this amendment freed millions of African Americans from legal bondage.
Emancipation Proclamation: An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 declaring all slaves in Confederate territory to be set free.
Fourteenth Amendment: Ratified in 1868, it granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.”
Fifteenth Amendment: Ratified in 1870, it prohibited governments from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
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