13th Amendment Ratified, Abolishing Slavery
As the American Civil War concluded, Congress had passed the 13th Amendment in January 1865 to end slavery nationwide following the Emancipation Proclamation's limitations. Ratification required approval by three-fourths of the states, including some former Confederate ones under Union-recognized governments. On December 6, 1865, Georgia became the 27th state to ratify, meeting the threshold exactly. Secretary of State William H. Seward later certified the amendment on December 18. The text prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime, fundamentally altering the legal status of millions.
Why it matters: The amendment legally eradicated chattel slavery in the United States, serving as the first of the Reconstruction Amendments and laying groundwork for citizenship and voting rights debates. It reshaped labor, society, and federal authority over states while leaving loopholes that enabled later convict leasing systems. Its legacy endures in ongoing civil rights struggles and constitutional interpretation.