Quill
  1. Overview: United States Thirteenth Amendment 1863-65
  2. Full Record: United States Thirteenth Amendment 1863-65
  3. Committee:The House of Representatives
  4. Session: 1863-12-14 12:00:00
  5. Event type: CREATE

United States Thirteenth Amendment 1863-65

An amendment to the United States Constitution to abolish slavery introduced during the American Civil War.

The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives of the Thirty-Eighth Session of Congress

The Committee Secretary's View The Committee Secretary's View

To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.

Document introduced in:

Session 3522: 1863-12-14 12:00:00

The newly elected Chaplain is sworn in; the Standing Committees are appointed by the Speaker; H. R. 14, H. R. 21, H. R. 24, and H. Res. 9 are first introduced and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; Mr. Fink, Mr. Harding, Mr. Wadsworth, and Mr. Holman present resolutions to the House.

Document View:

H. R. 22

There are 0 proposed amendments related to this document on which decisions have not been taken.

H R 22

A Bill to protect freedmen + to punish any one for re-enslaving them

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled

Sec. 1. That in the several States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina slavery or involuntary servitude (except as punishment for crime on due conviction thereof) is hereby forever prohibited and all persons so held or claimed to be held as slaves within the limits of the respective states aforesaid are hereby declared forever released from such servitude or slavery.

Section 2. And be it further enacted, That all persons declared free by the Proclamation of the President of date January 1, 1863, and the foregoing sections and also all persons declared free by the act entitled "an act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved July seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, shall be protected as all other free citizens "against unreasonable searches and seizures" and shall be permitted to sue and be liable to be sued, and to testify as witnesses in the several courts of the United States in all cases in which white citizens are now or may hereafter be permitted to sue or be liable to be sued in said Courts, or are now or may hereafter be permitted to testify [therein].

Section 3. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall hereafter arrest or cause to be arrested and imprisoned any slave declared free by this act or by any act of the United States with intent to recuse such slave to involuntary servitude, every person so offending shall be guilty of a crime and shall be subject to indictment in any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not less than three years, nor more than ten years, and a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.

Decisions yet to be taken

None

Document Timeline

Other Actions

View text build components