How Does The 13th Amendment Affect Society

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Many Americans believe the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment signifies the end of the oppression for African-Americans and marks the beginning of equality for all citizens in the United States, but that belief notes their lack of social awareness. The amendment abolishes slavery, but states the exception, as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. Even though the amendment did much to ameliorate African-Americans' position in society, the exception presents a loophole that enables the exploitation of African-Americans. The exception of punishment in the Thirteenth Amendment reconstructed systemic racism rather than de-institutionalize slavery, which made a negative impact on American society. Prior to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, the United States was economically, politically, and socially defined by its heavy dependence on slaves. The South's …show more content…

The lack of protection for Blacks caused the need for further amendments (Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment) to protect African-Americans' civil rights, but Blacks were terrorized through threats of lynchings and blacklisting up until the Civil Rights Era (Devoy 2). Throughout history, Blacks had been subjected to unfair voting laws, such as the Grandfather Clause, literacy tests, and poll taxes. Eventually, African-Americans were given equal voting protection under the law with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but felony disenfranchisement has now replaced former restrictions of voter suppression. In most states, a felon is not able to vote while serving a sentence and sometimes never at all. Today, convicts are considered second-class citizens and the conditions in which black men are criminalized and exploited are uncannily similar to

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