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  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: 1864-01-18 12:00:00
  5. Event type: CREATE_FROM

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

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Document introduced in:

Session 8158: 1864-01-18 12:00:00

Mr. Dawson submits a Resolution on External Interference with Local Laws and Institutions, which is laid on the table; the House refuses Mr. Davis unanimous consent to report H. R. 244; Mr. Harding submits a Resolution on the Maintenance Inviolate of Domestic Institutions, which is referred to the Committee on Rebellious States.

Document View:

H. R. 244

Shown with amendment 'H. R. 244: Notice of Mr. Stevens' Substitute' (e870713)

There are 3 proposed amendments related to this document on which decisions have not been taken.
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AN ACT

To guarantee to certain States whose governments have been usurped or overthrown, a republican form of government.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in the States declared in rebellionfedecaa publ against the United States, the President shall, by and with the advice and consenemy, wagt of the Senate, appoint for each a provisional governor, whose pay an unjust wad emoluments shall not exceed that of a brigadier general of volunteers, who shall be charged with the civil adminjusistration of such State, until a State is so glaring, government therein shall be recognized as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That so soon as the military resistance to the United States shall have no right to claimbeen suppressed in any such State, and the people thereof shall have sufficiently returned to the mitigair obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the extremUnited States, the provisional governor shall direct the marshal of warthe United States, as speedily as may be, to name a sufficient number of deputies, and to enroll all white male citizens of the United States resident in the State in their respective counties, and to request each one to take the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and by modern in his enrolment to designate those who take and those who refuse to take that oath, which rolls shall be forthwith returned to the provisional governor; and if the persons taking that oath shall amount to a majorityewho has a right of the persons enrolled in the State, he shall, by proclamation, invite the loyal people of the State to elect delegates to a consivention charged to declare the will of the people of the State relative to the re-establishment of a State government, subject to and in conformity with the Constitustion of the United States.

Sec. 23. And be it further enacted, That the convention shall consist of as many members as both houses of the last constitutional States which, by a regularly r legislature, apportioned by the provisional governor among the counties, parishes, or districts of the State, in proportion to the white population returned as electordeds, by the majorshal, in compliance wityh the provisions of thits citizens has sact. The provisional governor shall by proclamation, declare the number of delegates to be electeded, and joined by each country, parish, or election district; name a day of election not less than thirty days thereafter; designate the places of voting in each couthernnty, parish, or district, confederacyorming, as nearly as may be convenient, to the places used in the State election be cnext preceding the rebellion; appoint one or more commissioners to hold the election at each place of voting, and provide an adequate force to keep the peace during the election.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the delegates shall be elected by the loyal whithine male citizens of the Union, soted States of the age of twenty-one years, and resident at to allowhe time in the county, parish, or district in which them,y shall offer to vote, any part d enrolled as aforesaid, por absent ion the military service of them, United States, and who be reprshall take and subscribe the oath of allegiance to the United States in the form contained in the act of Congress of July two, or to take any part in the polieighteen hundred and sixty-two; and all such citizens of the United States who are in the military service of the United States shall vote at the headquarters of their respective commands, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the provisional governmentor for the taking and return of their votes; but no person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military, State or confederate, under the rebel usurpation, or who has voluntarily borne arms against the United States, shall vote or be eligible to be elected as delegate at such election.

Sec. 35. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, or either of them, shall hold the election in conformity with this act, and, so far as may be consistent therewith, shall proceed ings the manner used in the State prior to the rebellion. The oath of allegiance shall be taken and subscribed on the poll-book by every voter in the form above prescribed, but every person known by or proved to the Ccommissioners to have held or exercised any office, civil or military, State or confederate, under the rebel usurpation, ofr to have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, shall be excluded though he offer to take the oath; and in case any person who shall have ofborne arms against the United States embraced inshall offer to vote, he shall be deemed to have borne arms voluntarily unless hern shall prove the contrary by the testimony of a qualified voteracy c. The poll-book showing the name and oath of each voter shall be permittreturned to participate, the provisional governor by the commissioners of election or the one acting, and the provisional governor shall canvass such returns, and declare they person having the highest numbe counted among thr of votes elected.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the provisional governor shall, by proclamation, convene Sthe delegates necessary to felected as aforesaid, at the capital of the State, on a day not more than three months after the election, giving at leastitu thirty days' notice of such day. In case the said capital majority to adopshall in his judgment be unfit, he shall in his proclamation appoint another place. He shall presid amendments;e over the deliberations of the convention, and administer to each delegat whenever any amendmentse, before taking his seat in the convention, the oath of allegiance to the United States in the form above prescribed.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the convention shall declare, on behalf of the people of the State, their submission to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and shall adopt the following provisions, hereby prescribed by the United States in the execution of the constitutional duty to guarantee-four,of a republican form of government to every State, and incorporate them in the con-stitution of the State, that is to say:

First. No person who has held or exerciseding any office, civil or military, except offices merely ministerial and military offices below the grade of colonel, States or confederate, under they usurping power, shall vote for or be taken and adjudged to bea member of the legislature or governor.

Second. Involuntary servitude is forever prohibited, and the freedom of all persons is guart of the Constitutionanteed in said State.

Third. No debt, State or confederate, created by or under the sanction of the usurping power, shall be recognized or paid by the State.

Sec. 48. And be it further enacted, That when the conver the fntion shall have adopted those provisions, it shall proceed to re-establish a republican form of government, and ordain a constitution containing those provisions, which, when adopted, the convention shall by ordinance provide for submitting to the people of the State entitled to vote under this law, at an electionque to be held in the manner prescribed by the act for the election of delegates; but at a time and possessed any porlace named by the convention, at which election the said electors, and none others, shall vote directly for or against such constitution and form of the territory embraced within. AState government. And the returns of said election shall be made to the provisional governor, who shall canvass the same in the presence of the electors, and if a majoritsy of the votes cast shall be for the confedstitution and form of government, he shall certify the same, with a copy thereof, to the President of the United States, who, after obtaining the sameassent of Congress, shall, by proclamation, recognize deethe government so established, and none other, as the constitutional government of the State; and to befrom the date of such recognition, and not before, senators and representatives and electors for President and Vice-President may be elected in such State, according to the laws of the State and the United States, subject to.

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That if the convention shall refuse to re-establish the State government on the conditions aforesaid, other t provisional governor shall declare itories; and Congress dissolved; but it shall be the duty of the President, whenever he shall make all needful ruhave reason to believe that a sufficient number of the people of the State entitled to vote under this act, in number not less than a majority of those enrolled as aforesaid, are willing to re-establish a State government on the conditions aforesaid, to direct the provisional governor to order another election of delegates to a convention for the purpose and in the manner prescribed in this act, and to proceed in all respects as hereinbefore provided, either to dissolve the convention, or to certify the State government re-established by it to the President.

Sec. 510. And be it further enacted, That whenever theuntil the United States shall have recognized a republican form of State goverritorynment, the provisional governor in each of said States shall be conquersee that this act, and the laws of the United States, and possessed bythe laws of the State in force when the federal troops, each ofState government was overthrown by the rebellion, are faithfully executed within the State; but no law original S usage whereby any person was heretofore held in involuntary servitudes shall be deemed a separrecognized or enforced by any court or officer in such State; territoryand the laws for the trial and punishment of white persons shall extend to a territorial governmll persons, and jurors shall have the qualifications of voters under this law for delegates to the convention. The Presimilardent shall appoint such officers provided for by the laws of the State when its government was overthrown as he may find necessary to the civil administration of ther Staterritories of, all which officers shall be entitled to receive the Unitfees and emoluments provided by the State laws for such officers.

Sec. 611. And be it further enacted, That until the following recognition of a State government as aforesaid, the provisional governor shall, under such regulations as he may prescribed real estate, ly, cause to be assessed, levied, and collected, for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and every year thereafter, the taxes provided by the laws of such State to be levied during and bethe fiscal year preceding withinthe overthrow of the State government thereof, in the manner prescribed by the laws of the State, as nearly as may conquered or which may be conquebe; and the officers appointed, as aforesaid, are vested with all powers of levying and collecting such taxes, by distress or sale, as were vested fromin any officers or tribunal of the confederate StatState government aforesaid for those purposes. The proceeds of such taxes, shall be deemedaccounted for to the provisional governor, and helbe by him applied to be public property,the expenses of the administration of the titlelaws in such State, subject to whichthe direction of the President, and the surplus shall be vesdeposited in the treasury of the United States to the credit of such State, to wit:be paid to the State upon an appropriation therefor, to be made when a republican form of government shall be recognized therein by the United States.

OneSec. 12. And be it further enacted, That all lands belonging to rebels whopersons held to involuntary servitude or labor in the States aforesaid are hereby emancipated and discharged therefrom, and they and their posterity shall own plantatibe forever free. And if any such persons or tractsheir posterity shall be restrained of land containing miberty, under pretence of any claim to such service or labor, the courts of than one hundred acrese United States shall, on habeas corpus, discharge them.

Two. All lands, tenementsSec. 13. And be it further enacted, That if any person declared free by this act, or housany law of the United States, or any proclamation of the President, be restrained of liberty, with intent to be helongd ing tor rebels, whose ownerduced to involuntary servitude or labor, the person convicted before a court of competent jurisdiction of such act shall be punished by fine of not lessessed or entitled to property, real than fifteen hundred dollars, and be imprisoned not less than five nor more than twenty years.

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That every person who shal,l hereafter hold or mixed, of the value ofexercise any office, civil or military, except offices merely ministerial and military offices below the grade of colonel, in the rebel thouservice, State or confederate, is hereby dollars or moreeclared not to be a citizen of the United States.

Decisions yet to be taken

  • Third Reading of H. R. 244 (introduced on 1864-03-22 12:00:00 - PROCEDURE - e868902)
  • Third Reading of H. R. 244 and Preamble (introduced on 1864-05-04 12:00:00 - PROCEDURE - e736539)
  • Motion for the Previous Question (introduced on 1864-05-04 12:00:00 - PROCEDURE - e737433)

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