13th Amendment, Abolition and the Prison Exception

What the 13th Amendment Says

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, except as punishment for a crime. It was ratified on December 6, 1865 and has two sentences (National Archives):

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.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The first sentence ended slavery everywhere in the country, including places the Emancipation Proclamation never reached. Its middle clause, ”except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,” still allows people in prison to be forced to work. The second sentence gives Congress the power to pass laws enforcing it.

How the 13th Amendment Passed

Congress passed the 13th Amendment in early 1865, after Lincoln concluded that the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed by an amendment. His 1863 proclamation freed enslaved people only in Confederate areas still in rebellion, not even in the loyal border states. The National Archives says Lincoln saw an amendment as the way “to guarantee the abolishment of slavery” (National Archives).

The Senate passed the amendment in April 1864, but the House did not at first, and Lincoln pushed to add it to the Republican platform for the 1864 election. The House passed it on January 31, 1865, by 119 to 56, and Lincoln approved the resolution the next day. Three-fourths of the states had ratified it by December 6, 1865.

1. 1863 Emancipation Proclamation Frees enslaved people only in Confederate areas still in rebellion. (source)
2. 1864 The Senate passes the amendment Passed in April. (source)
3. 1865 The House passes it and the states ratify House vote 119-56 on January 31; ratified December 6. (source)
4. 1865-1940s Convict leasing Southern states lease prisoners, many arrested under Black Codes, to railways, mines and plantations until World War II. (source)
5. 1968 Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. The Supreme Court rules 7-2 that an 1866 law bars racial discrimination in property sales and rentals, private as well as public. (source)
6. 1995 Mississippi votes to ratify 130 years late. The paperwork is not filed until 2013. (source)
7. 2018 Colorado removes its exception The first state to strike slavery as punishment from its constitution. (source)
8. 2021 The Abolition Amendment is introduced A proposal to strike the exception from the U.S. Constitution; reintroduced in 2023 and, renamed, in 2026. (source)
9. 2024 Nevada becomes the eighth state California voters reject a similar measure the same day. (source)

From emancipation to the fight over the exception: 1863: Emancipation Proclamation (Frees enslaved people only in Confederate areas still in rebellion.). 1864: The Senate passes the amendment (Passed in April.). 1865: The House passes it and the states ratify (House vote 119-56 on January 31; ratified December 6.). 1865-1940s: Convict leasing (Southern states lease prisoners, many arrested under Black Codes, to railways, mines and plantations until World War II.). 1968: Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (The Supreme Court rules 7-2 that an 1866 law bars racial discrimination in property sales and rentals, private as well as public.). 1995: Mississippi votes to ratify (130 years late. The paperwork is not filed until 2013.). 2018: Colorado removes its exception (The first state to strike slavery as punishment from its constitution.). 2021: The Abolition Amendment is introduced (A proposal to strike the exception from the U.S. Constitution; reintroduced in 2023 and, renamed, in 2026.). 2024: Nevada becomes the eighth state (California voters reject a similar measure the same day.).

The Exception Clause, or the 13th Amendment Loophole

The loophole is the clause ”except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” It means a person convicted of a crime can lawfully be required to work. The ACLU calls it the “exception clause” and says today’s exploitation of incarcerated workers is rooted in it (ACLU).

The South used it quickly. After 1865, Southern states passed Black Codes, laws that applied only to Black people and made crimes out of acts like vagrancy and loitering. Arrests under those codes fed convict leasing, a system in which states rented prisoners to private railways, mines and large plantations. Widespread convict leasing lasted until World War II, and for the first time many state prison systems held more Black prisoners than white, all of whom could be leased for profit, according to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).

Prison Labor Today

About two out of every three people in U.S. prisons work, most for pennies an hour. A 2022 report by the ACLU and the University of Chicago’s Global Human Rights Clinic found nearly 800,000 incarcerated workers among more than 1,200,000 people in state and federal prisons (ACLU).

Work a prison job Do not work

Nearly 800,000 of more than 1,200,000 people in prison (65%). Source: ACLU and Global Human Rights Clinic, Captive Labor (June 2022).

Average pay runs from 13 to 52 cents an hour (ACLU). In 7 states, prisons pay nothing for most jobs: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas (ACLU). Each year they produce more than $2 billion in goods and more than $9 billion in services, the report estimates.

More than 80% of prison laborers do maintenance work that keeps prisons running, such as cleaning, food preparation and laundry. More than 76% of workers in a Bureau of Justice Statistics survey said they had to work or face punishment. That can mean solitary confinement, losing chances to shorten a sentence or lost family visits (ACLU).

States Ending the Exception

Since 2018, voters in 8 states have struck the exception from their state constitutions. Colorado was first. 2 similar measures failed. Louisiana’s lost in 2022 after some of its own sponsors urged a no vote over unclear wording. California’s Proposition 6 lost in 2024 (PBS NewsHour; CapRadio). Ballotpedia lists no 2025 or 2026 measure on the exception.

A state change does not override the U.S. Constitution, but it does bar that state from forcing prison labor under its own constitution. What changes in practice depends on the state’s laws and on court cases that follow.

Where efforts to end the exception stand

As of October 14, 2026

• The 13th Amendment exception Law, since 1865

  Still allows slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. (source)

• The End the Exception Amendment Proposal, not passed

  First introduced as the Abolition Amendment in June 2021 by Rep. Nikema Williams and Sen. Jeff Merkley, reintroduced in June 2023, and reintroduced again on September 15, 2026 with Sen. Cory Booker under its new name. It would need two-thirds of both houses of Congress and 38 states. (source)

• State constitutions, 8 states Law, 2018 to 2024

  Colorado, Nebraska, Utah, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont and Nevada have removed the exception. (source)

• California Proposition 6 Ended, rejected 2024

  Would have removed involuntary servitude as a punishment. Voters rejected it in November 2024. (source)

What Congress Can Do Under Section 2

Section 2 lets Congress decide what counts as a lingering mark of slavery and outlaw it. In Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968), the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on an 1866 law about buying and renting property. It held that the law “bars all racial discrimination, private as well as public, in the sale or rental of property,” and that Congress had the power to pass it under the 13th Amendment (opinion). Congress has the power “rationally to determine what are the badges and the incidents of slavery,” the Court said.

The Court called housing discrimination that “herds men into ghettos” a “relic of slavery.” That reasoning is why the 13th Amendment still matters in civil rights law beyond forced labor. Our Civil Rights Act and redlining explainers cover related laws.

The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments

Together they are the Reconstruction Amendments, ratified in five years after the Civil War. The 13th (1865) ended slavery. The 14th (1868) made everyone born in the United States a citizen and promised equal protection of the laws. The 15th (1870) barred denying the vote because of race. Our constitutional amendments guide lists all 27.

Common Questions About the 13th Amendment

What is the 13th Amendment in simple terms?

It ended slavery in the United States. Since December 6, 1865, no one may be held in slavery or involuntary servitude, with one exception: a person convicted of a crime can be made to work as punishment.

What is the loophole in the 13th Amendment?

The words “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” That clause lets governments require people in prison to work, often for little or no pay. Critics, including the ACLU, call it the exception clause or the slavery loophole.

What state forgot to ban slavery?

Mississippi. Its legislature voted to ratify the 13th Amendment in 1995, 130 years late, but never sent the paperwork to the federal government. The ratification was officially recorded in February 2013.

When was the 13th Amendment passed and ratified?

The Senate passed it in April 1864 and the House on January 31, 1865, by a vote of 119 to 56. The states completed ratification on December 6, 1865.

What are the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments?

The three Reconstruction Amendments. The 13th (1865) abolished slavery, the 14th (1868) made people born or naturalized in the United States citizens and promised equal protection of the laws, and the 15th (1870) barred denying the vote because of race.

Did the Emancipation Proclamation end slavery?

No. Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation freed enslaved people only in areas of the Confederacy still in rebellion. The 13th Amendment ended slavery everywhere in the country.

What You Can Do

1. Check your state constitution. Search it for “involuntary servitude” or “punishment for crime.” If the exception is there, ask your state legislators whether they will put its removal on the ballot.
2. Ask Congress about the End the Exception Amendment. It was reintroduced on September 15, 2026 (Sen. Merkley). Ask your representative and senators whether they will cosponsor it. Our letter-writing guide shows how to make a short, specific ask.
3. Learn how prison labor works where you live. Your state corrections department publishes its pay rates and work programs. Our mass incarceration and private prisons explainers give the national picture.
4. Vote on ballot measures. Most state changes came from voters. Make a plan with our voter registration guide.