The Origin of the Thirteenth Amendment and Details, Essay Example

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery as a legal institution. For the purpose of this paper I will examine the history of slavery through the years and the legal and political implications of the ratification of the 13^th Amendment.  I will also examine if there are any ‘indirect’ forms of slavery that still exists after the passage of such Amendments. “Two significant aspects of the 13^th Amendment with respect to the abolition of slavery are Section 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 and Section II Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.“[1](Leidner, 2009).

History

Prior to the Civil War, in February 1861, Congress had passed a Thirteenth Amendment for an entirely different purpose–to guarantee the legality and perpetuity of slavery in the slave states, rather than to end it. There were complicated sectional politics during the antebellum age of which were attempts to preclude the Civil War. Before the vote could be sent to states for ratification, the Civil War commenced. The final version of the 13^th Amendment which is the one we have today was passed during the Civil War years, when southern congressional representatives were not present for debate. “Abolishing slavery was almost exclusively a Republican party effort–only four Democrats voted for it.”(Leidner, 2009). President Abraham Lincoln took an active role to push the proposed legislation through Congress. He managed to accomplish this by adding it to the Republican party platform for the upcoming election. He was able to use his political influence to get additional Democrats to vote for the passage. Lincoln correctly realized that as President, he had no legal grounds to single-handedly terminate the institution of slavery–but that this had to be done by a constitutional amendment. “The Emancipation Proclamation had practical impact on the legality of slavery everywhere–North and South though no theoretical effect on the legal status of slavery.” (Leidner, 2009).

[2]“The Missouri Compromise of 1820 (enacted at a time when slave states and non-slave states had equal representation in the Senate) permitted slavery in Missouri, but prohibited slavery in portions of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30′. This shows that there was a common goal leaning toward prohibition of slavery in some of the Southern states, but some of the other states still permitted slavery.” This further promoted Lincoln’s suggestion for a constitutional amendment to totally prohibit slavery practise. In the infamous decision of [3]Dred v Scott the US Supreme Court determined that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in territories. ~[4]Scott v Sanford decision which allowed in 1857 slave owners to pass pro-slavery constitutions in individual states encouraged the Civil War. African citizens lacked the authority to bring suit in federal courts. The 13^th Amendment overruled the Dred v Scott decision when it was passed before the Civil War ended.

Congress used its newly conferred powers to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1886 which gave black citizens the same right in every states including “the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, …to inherit, purchase, sell, and convey real and personal property; and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens.” [5](Linder, 2009).

Virginia was the final state to ratify the 13^th Amendment to the US Constitution. This made it the ‘law of the land’ on March 12, 1819. The ratification came eight months after the end of the war, but it represented the culmination of the struggle against slavery. Although many northern Democrats and conservative Republicans were opposed to slavery’s expansion, they were ambivalent about outlawing the institution entirely.

The Original 13^th Amendment

“The “original 13th Amendment” had in fact been ratified prior to the Civil War by thirteen states, enough for ratification, and was published in the official copies of the Constitution for the USA throughout the United States. Over 30 or more official publications from Maine to Colorado contained the “original 13th Amendment.” That it suddenly “disappeared” and was replaced with another 13th Amendment is now a matter of historical and legal fact. It has been hypothesized that the unrevealed motive behind the War of 1812 was to delay the ratification efforts of the sovereign states regarding this “missing”, original 13th Amendment,” and destroy the records.” [6](Jelsoft Enterprises, 2009).

The original Amendment is often called the ‘title of nobility’ The references to nobility, honour, emperor, king and prince lead us to dismiss this amendment as a petty post-revolution act of spite directed against the British monarchy. But in our modern world of Lady Di and Prince Charles, anti-royalist sentiments seem so archaic and quaint, that the Amendment can be ignored. To create the present oligarchy (rule by lawyers) which we now endure, the lawyers first had to remove the 13th “titles of nobility” Amendment that might otherwise have kept them in check. Since the unlawful deletion of the 13th Amendment, the newly developing bar associations began working diligently to create a system wherein lawyers took on a title of privilege and nobility as “Esquires” and received the “honour” of offices and positions (like district attorney or judge) that only lawyers may now hold. By virtue of these titles, honours, and special privileges, lawyers have assumed political and economic advantages over the majority of U.S. citizens. Since the amendment was never lawfully nullified, it is still in full force and effect and is the Law of the land. If public support could be awakened, this missing Amendment might provide a legal basis to challenge many existing laws and court decisions previously made by lawyers who were unconstitutionally elected or appointed to their positions of power; it might even mean the removal of lawyers from our current government system. [7](Martine, M., 2009). The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared that based on war powers ‘‘all persons

held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free”.

In the distinguished case of [8]“Hodges v. United States the Court set aside the convictions of three men for conspiring to drive several African Americans from their employment in a lumber mill. The Thirteenth Amendment operated to abolish, and to authorize Congress to legislate to enforce abolition of, conditions of enforced compulsory service of one to another and no attempt to analogize a private impairment of freedom to a disability of slavery would suffice to give the Federal Government jurisdiction over what was constitutionally a matter of state remedial law.” [9](Thirteenth Amendment). Hodges v United States substantially curtailed the broad ‘discretionary’ congressional powers.    

Historically it has been proven that the original 13th Amendment to our Constitution has been illegally removed from publication. One intent of the Amendment was to prohibit the attorneys of powerful European bankers from holding office in America. During the confusion of the War of 1812, when our capital records building was burned, and the Civil War, the bankers and lawyers removed the 13th Amendment, replacing it with the Slave Amendment, which should be the 14th. “The missing 13th Amendment, called Article XIII, reads:” If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain, any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.”[10](Dartez, L., 2009).  This is a critical are of our government bending and manipulating laws in order to gain supremacy of government.

David M. Dodge, archival researcher in the Winter of 1983 was astonished to see an authentic copy of the Constitution of the United States (printed in 1825) in a library while searching for evidence of public corruption in government. Dodge is an archival researcher and was accompanied by police investigator Tom Dunn. Both men were stunned to see this document included a 13th Amendment that no longer appears on current copies of the Constitution. Moreover, after studying the Amendment’s language and historical context, they realized the principle intent of this “missing” 13th Amendment was to ‘prohibit lawyers from serving in government’. Since 1983, Dodge and Dunn have uncovered additional copies of the Constitution with the “missing” 13th Amendment printed in at least eighteen separate publications by ten different states and territories over four decades from 1822 to 1860. “In June of this year (1991), Dodge uncovered the evidence that this missing 13th Amendment had indeed been lawfully ratified by the state of Virginia and was therefore an authentic Amendment to the American Constitution. If the evidence is correct and no logical errors have been made, a 13th Amendment restricting lawyers from serving in government was ratified in 1819 and removed from the U.S. Constitution during the tumult of the Civil War. Since the Amendment was never lawfully repealed, it is still the Law today.”[11](Dodge, M., 1991).

Why Do the People not act on Enforcing the Original 13^th Amendment

If the original Constitution has never been legally and formally repealed why do we not enforce it? Political pressures of government are probably the most significant reason why it is not enforced. If lawyers cannot hold political office according to the original amendment then nearly all political offices would be terminated effectively and immediately because the majority of political officials have law degrees. Though this academic background is not a requirement for political office, it is normally suggested in political offices of high profile such as Senate, Congress, Governor, Representative, etc. So why don’t the people of the United States get together and demand that the original amendment be adhered to? There is much political power through conventions and discretionary powers. A constitutional convention is a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an existing constitution. Conventions are normally discretionary and informal. A convention may retain the character of an “unwritten” law of custom. Conventions are respected for their political bargaining powers rather than their direct lawfulness. Conventions are widely used in the United Kingdom and are conferred upon the Ministers with much enforcement ability. Though they are not the law in the UK, they are most likely adhered to because of their past political presence in the ‘elective dictatorship’ government.

It might surprise you that the President has certain ‘discretionary’ powers in relation to the US Constitution. There are powers that the Head of the State can exercise without prior approval of another branch of government. This is seen highly prevalent in the United Kingdom where there are powers to dismiss a Prime Minister, resolve to diffuse Parliament and refusal to pass Royal Assent on bills. Discretionary powers are important as to why the original 13^th Amendment was able to be re-written and enforced without formal repeal.  Let’s examine a case law to show implications of discretionary power in Congress and the Supreme Court. In the distinguished case of [12]“McCulloch v Maryland (1819) the US Supreme Court ruled that US Congress had ‘implied’ powers under the Necessary and Proper Claus and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank e of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States.” [13](McBride, A., 2006).  The Constitutionality of the act of Congress in chartering the Bank was in question. The Bank of the United States was the only bank not chartered within the state. “When the Bank’s Baltimore branch refused to pay the tax, Maryland sued James McCulloch, cashier of the branch, for collection of the debt. McCulloch responded that the tax was unconstitutional. A state court ruled for Maryland, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice Marshall, the Court ruled that the Bank of the United States was constitutional and that the Maryland tax was unconstitutional.” (McBride, A., 2006).

In contrast to discretionary powers afforded by the Constitution, Congress set out to ban the discretionary powers of judges to sentence created by the States Sentencing Commission in 1984.  Instead Congress authorized a set of rules established to govern sentences of those convicted of federal crimes.

Life After the 13^th Amendment

With the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in December 1865, slavery was officially abolished in all areas of the United States. The Reconstruction era was under way in the South, the period during which the 11 Confederate states would be gradually reintroduced to the Union. In the meantime, in many parts of the South, the newly freed slaves laboured under conditions similar to those existing before the war. In the summer of 1866 Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, extended the powers of a government agency that had been established in 1865 for the purpose of providing medical, educational, and financial assistance for the millions of impoverished southern blacks. Congress also passed the Civil Rights Bill, which gave full citizenship to blacks, along with all the rights enjoyed by other Americans. Black voters came out strongly for the Republicans in the 1868 elections, helping Ulysses S. Grant win the presidency. The campaign for state ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment was successful. “On March 30, 1870, President Grant declared that the amendment had been adopted. Later, at the last official meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass spoke gratefully about the new rights blacks had won. “I seem to be living in a new world,” he said.[14](Thomas S., 2007).

Conclusion

There have been great strides towards the abolition of slavery which commenced during the reign of President Abraham Lincoln.  The original 13^th Amendment was in support of limiting government’s power and keeping the power within the realm of the people; however it was changed to expressly abolish the illegal use of slaves and indentured servants. Perhaps it should have been amended to incorporate the abolishment of slavery and not eliminate the express powers that government has over the US Constitution including the power of attorney’s to sit in political position. With that said, there is a missing link in the 13^th Amendment which should have been proposed as the 14^th and 15^th Amendment, but today it is officially the 13^th Amendment.

References

Leidner (2009) Great American History:  The Thirteenth Amendment. Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, <http://www.greatamericanhistory.net/amendment.html

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857)

Linder(2009) Exploring Constitutional Law Retrieved 31 August 2009, from, http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/home.html.

Jelsoft Enterprises Original 13^th Amendment Arguments Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/courts/46737-original-13th-amendment-arguments.html.

Martine, M. (2009) Original 13^th Amendment Removed Unlawfully from the US Constitution Retrieved 31 August from, http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2008/12/24/original-13th-amendment-removed-unlawfully-from-us-constitution/.

Hodges V. United States, 203 U. S. 1 (1906)

Thirteenth Amendment Slavery and Involuntary Servitude Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/pdf/con024.pdf.

Dartez, L. (2009) Original 13^th Amendment is Missing Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, http://www.oilforimmigration.org/facts/?p=2571.

Dodge, M. (1991) The Missing 13^th Amendment Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, http://www.lawfulpath.com/ref/13th-amend.shtml.

McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819)

McBride, A. (2006) The First Hundred Years:  Landmark Cases Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_mcculloch.html

Thomas S. (2007) The Slave Years Retrieved 31 August 2009 from, http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/part1.html.