The Thirteenth Amendment

Throughout the years, there have been many influential acts and laws passed through our government. The Thirteenth Amendment which states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction,” (history.com) has so impacted our nation that we still see its effects in our lives today. It has played a huge role in shaping our country into what we are today. The Thirteenth Amendment provided hope and stability to our nation and African Americans alike, after coming out of a long war and an even longer battle with slavery.
Slavery was introduced into the Southern colonies around the time that Jamestown was settled. Many people became enslaved, especially African Americans. They were brought to America by force when people in the colonies needed free labor. As the years went by slavery continued to grow and expand along with the nation.
In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. It was designed with such small slots that when cotton was pushed through, the seeds were left behind. This created a demand for even more slaves in the South, as they now needed them to plant, cultivate, pick, and ‘gin’ the cotton. It seemed most obvious to get more African Americans.
Around this time people were also moving westward past the Mississippi River, which raised the question of whether slavery should be allowed in the West or whether it should be outlawed. This seemingly small question grew and spiraled out of control until our nation was on a crash course for war.
By the mid-1850s the North had begun an Industrial Revolution that employed many people into factories. The South, who had rema...

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...been allowed from the beginning. If we had not gone through the Civil War, or had even found anything wrong with slavery in the first place, our nation could be something completely different.

Works Cited
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Boorstin, Daniel J., and Brooks M. Kelley. A History of the United States. N.p.: Prentice-Hall, 2002. Print.
Newman, Roger K., ed. The Constitution and Its Amendments. Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan Reference, 1999. Print.
Pendergast, Tom, Et Al. Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning. N.p.: UXL, 2001. Print.
"Thirteenth Amendment." History. N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Vile, John R., ed. Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues 1789-1995. N.p.: ABC-CLIO, 1996. Print.