Passing it required some wild politics. The Senate passed it easily, but the House was a nail-biter. President Lincoln personally lobbied undecided representatives.
One representative, James Ashley, got so passionate he made a four-hour speech. Imagine that—four hours! He probably needed a lot of water breaks.
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The 13th Amendment: History and Impact
And get this: it was passed over the objections of a few states like Kentucky and Delaware. They were like, “Nah, we’re good.” News flash: they eventually came around.
A Quick Geography Lesson
The amendment didn't apply to Native American tribes on reservations. Those were considered “domestic dependent nations.” So, technically, slavery continued there until later treaties. History is full of paperwork loopholes.
Eight states rejected it at first. Mississippi actually only officially ratified it in 1995! And they forgot to send the paperwork until 2013. That’s a 148-year delay. Procrastination at its finest.
I love that Mississippi’s state legislature had to vote again in 2004 to fix the oversight. They finally got the memo after a movie called “Lincoln” came out. Pop culture saves the day!
