In 1864-1865, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln put forward the
13th Amendment to the Constitution, one which would abolish slavery
of black people in the United States. The Amendment reads as follows: 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. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
With this, Lincoln became known as the Great Emancipator and the issue of black slavery was over… or so we’d very much like to think. Something that has rung true about politics since its very inception is that laws are like any other weapon: If they can’t be broken, they can just as easily be turned on the people who make them. Unfortunately, the 13th Amendment is much the same and, before too long, it would end up being used to bring back the very institution it was created to stop. Time to get good and fucking depressed.
With this, Lincoln became known as the Great Emancipator and the issue of black slavery was over… or so we’d very much like to think. Something that has rung true about politics since its very inception is that laws are like any other weapon: If they can’t be broken, they can just as easily be turned on the people who make them. Unfortunately, the 13th Amendment is much the same and, before too long, it would end up being used to bring back the very institution it was created to stop. Time to get good and fucking depressed.
