Abraham Lincoln's Words
An amendment to end slavery had stalled in Congress in 1864. Aware that as commander in chief he had issued the Emancipation Proclamation as a temporary wartime measure, Lincoln led the attempt to abolish slavery forever through constitutional amendment. In this fragment of his last Annual Message—the equivalent of the current State of the Union address—he forcefully urges upon Congress “the reconsideration and passage of the [Thirteenth Amendment] at the present session.” Lincoln’s political leadership was never more evident.
The Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, was the only ratified constitutional amendment signed by a president. The Constitution does not require a president’s signature; an amendment needs to be approved only by two thirds of both houses of Congress and ratified by three fourths of the states. With his signature, Lincoln emphatically signaled to the world his support of the abolition of slavery throughout the United States.
Article XIII.
Sec. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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