Legalized slavery was ended in the U.S. a mere 152 years ago today. | HISTORY

#OnThisDay in 1865, the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery, was officially adopted into the U.S. Constitution—246 years after enslaved Africans landed in Port Comfort in Virginia. The 13th Amendment stated that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime whereof the part shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The 13th Amendment was intended to complete what free and enslaved African A

On December 18, 1865, the 13th Amendment was formally adopted in the U.S. Constitution. It finally prohibited chattel slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States. President Lincoln did not live to see it ratified, but it was his Emancipation Proclamation that had paved the way for this important clause. However, an important loophole in the Amendment made sure that slavery survived in America until after World War I… Let’s try to understand what exactly took place 156 years ago. | Sun