CONTENTS A LETTER FROM DUCHESS 4 CHAPTER ONE A Nation Divided 6 CHAPTER TWO The Emancipation Proclamation 14 CHAPTER THREE The Fight in Congress 22 CHAPTER FOUR The Loophole 30 CHAPTER FIVE The War on Crime 36 Fast Facts 42 Stop and Think 44 Glossary 45 Online Resources 46 Learn More 46 About the Authors 47 Index 48
duchess harris A LETTER FROM DUCHESS The Thirteenth Amendment is one of the most important acts in the legal history of the United States It is often said that the amendment abolished slavery But its legacy is more complicated than that The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery except as a form of punishment Southerners seized on this loophole They unjustly arrested thousands of Black people Black convicts were forced to do hard unpaid labor In this way slavery was reconstructed in the South Freedom is a fascinating concept Today Black people are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white people Are they then truly free Who profits from the inmates unpaid or underpaid labor This book aims to answer these questions It explains the events that led to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment It also explores how the amendment’s loophole led to the mass incarceration of African Americans today Please join me in learning about the Thirteenth Amendment and its legacy Follow me on a journey that examines the idea of freedom 4
African Americans celebrated the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 5
