Enacted Text
Text as enacted or promulgated by the issuing body, reproduced from the official source.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIII — National Archives transcript
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.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIII — National Archives transcript
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Real Law Society Editorial Material
Prepared by the Real Law Society. Commentary and apparatus only; it carries no authority of its own.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Congress proposed the amendment on January 31, 1865; the National Archives records ratification on December 6, 1865. The date of congressional proposal is distinct from the date of ratification.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Section 1 prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude within the United States and places subject to their jurisdiction, while stating an exception for punishment following due conviction of a crime. Section 2 grants Congress power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. The text pairs a prohibition and its stated exception in Section 1 with a congressional enforcement power in Section 2. The exception is reproduced without omission; this record does not decide its application to a particular practice.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. The scope of this record is the complete text of both sections and a text-based editorial overview. Judicial interpretation, subsequent case treatment, and fact-specific modern application are not surveyed here.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are read as distinct Reconstruction Amendments. This record links the existing Fourteenth Amendment Section 1 record and its companion amendment without treating their provisions as interchangeable.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Read both sections before developing a research question. Distinguish the amendment itself from legislation enacted under its enforcement power and from judicial interpretation; those additional authorities require their own source verification.
Revision history
- 1865-01-31 — Proposed by Congress; distinct from ratification.
- 1865-12-06 — Ratified by the requisite number of States, as dated by the National Archives.