The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude (except in criminal imprisonment) in the United States, but until recently, Mississippi had not ratified the 13th Amendment. They finally ratified nearly 150 years after most states in the union did. To somewhat make up for this, the delay was due to a clerical error in which state officials never presented the document to the U.S. archivist, so it was never official. However, that was nearly 20 years ago, which was still over a century after most states ratified it. No one had noticed the mistake until some citizens notified state officials that they had never ratified the extremely crucial and important document, one of the most important documents in US History.
The 13th amendment was passed by the federal government in the US Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865. The amendment required 27 states to ratify it before it could be formally adopted into US Law, and by the December of 1865, Georgia's approval brought the number of states that had ratified to 27.
Mississippi, however, was not the only state to wait a long amount of time before ratifying the amendment; several states, such as Kentucky and Delaware, waited decades before ratifying. Though, the last one was still Mississippi.
It is quite strange to see that an amendment that was so necessary and was literally a cause of the Civil War took over a century and a half before it was ratified. The wounds and resentment seem to have had a lasting impact on many states in America, so much so that a document ensuring civil rights was forgotten about and deemed unnecessary for such a long period of time. Pride seems to be what held many states back for decades, which is deranged because most people wouldn't know much about the war except for what they were told about it decades after, and they are still capable of holding a grudge.
The amendment finally passed with a unanimous vote in Mississippi, and hopefully, there are less and less people out there who remain pledged to the Confederate cause, one that does not and has no reason to exist, especially not in this day and age.
The 13th amendment was passed by the federal government in the US Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865. The amendment required 27 states to ratify it before it could be formally adopted into US Law, and by the December of 1865, Georgia's approval brought the number of states that had ratified to 27.
Mississippi, however, was not the only state to wait a long amount of time before ratifying the amendment; several states, such as Kentucky and Delaware, waited decades before ratifying. Though, the last one was still Mississippi.
It is quite strange to see that an amendment that was so necessary and was literally a cause of the Civil War took over a century and a half before it was ratified. The wounds and resentment seem to have had a lasting impact on many states in America, so much so that a document ensuring civil rights was forgotten about and deemed unnecessary for such a long period of time. Pride seems to be what held many states back for decades, which is deranged because most people wouldn't know much about the war except for what they were told about it decades after, and they are still capable of holding a grudge.
The amendment finally passed with a unanimous vote in Mississippi, and hopefully, there are less and less people out there who remain pledged to the Confederate cause, one that does not and has no reason to exist, especially not in this day and age.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mississippi-finally-ratifies-slavery-ban-article-1.1267133
I really liked the point that you made about it being shocking that it took over a century and half and an entire war before the 13th amendment was ratified.
ReplyDeleteI like how you're connecting the Civil War to a modern event. I wonder if there was anyone in the State Legislature who voted against passing it.
ReplyDeleteI found this post very interesting. It's weird to think that "some citizens" would be the people to figure out this major hole in government. I'm wondering why Mississippi only attempted to ratify the 13th amendment around 20 years ago. That is very late.
ReplyDelete