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SaMiya Wilson
Jinaki Abdullah
ENG 1313-01
09 November 2016
Expository Essay: The 13th Amendment and its Implications to the Present Day
The 13th Amendment was put into place following the Civil War. In fact, the 13th
Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments adopted in the five years
following the American Civil War (Thirteenth Amendment). The 13th, 14th and 15th
Amendments are Civil War Amendments that have served the purpose of ensuring equality for
recently emancipated slaves. Based on President Lincolns War powers in 1863, President
Abraham Lincoln published the Emancipation Proclamation. President Lincolns Proclamation
did not apply to slavery in the states that had not seceded (Slavery and Involuntary Servitude).
To abolish slavery entirely, Congress proposed the 13th Amendment. In specific, the 13th
Amendment abolished slavery and any form of involuntary servitude, except in the case of
punishment for a crime. The 13th Amendment states "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 (Primary Documents). This
means that the practice of owning individuals and enforcing unwanted actions should not be
demanded nor lead to disciplinary actions if the individuals are not convicted of a crime in the
United States. Furthermore, the individuals of convicted crimes should only be obligated to
follow through with a consequences due to a court ordered sentence. The 13th Amendment was
put in place to abolish the acts of slavery, although stereotypes still exist, discrimination is still

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used, and justice is not always served for second class citizens who have not been convicted of a
crime.
A stereotype is widely held but fixed conventional image of a particular group, person or
thing. One common stereotype is all African Americans are the same. That is appearance,
knowledge and skill wise. This idea that all black people are the same comes from the history of
slavery. Individuals of other groups, specifically, whites do not like the thought of African
Americans as equal to them. That is because African Americans have not always had the
advantages that whites have had. When using slavery as an example, Whites gave demands,
Blacks were obligated to follow them. Another stereotype is that African Americans are suspect.
This is because of reactions African Americans gave back then due to the treatment they were
given. In the case, when taking slavery for an example, slaves would try to escape. Escaping
during that time period was a crime and would be considered as being sneaky because the act
was done secretly, and it was not something you would be given permission to do. Therefore,
now, in present day, it is automatically assumed African Americans act in defense in all cases and
crimes involving an African American and an individual or another group; the African American
is at fault. In present day this could be robbery, murder, rape and any other crimes similar to that
sort. The problem is the acts blacks are assumed to take on are just as equal to the acts of whites.
The biggest stereotype is that skin color identifies whom a person is. This idea originated from
slavery times when African Americans came together in an act to be considered as a whole.
During slavery, they always work together under force. In this case even after the 13th
Amendment had been passed it is still assumed that all African Americans are the same.
Discrimination is the act of judgment on individuals based upon race, age or sex.
African Americans are often discriminated against because of the history of slavery. Because

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during the time of slavery, African Americans were forced to do labor without pay; now a days
African Americans are only considered in work forces that dont require a college degree.
African Americans are often forced on jobs that require hard work with little pay. Opportunity is
rarely given to African Americans and for those African Americans who are given the
opportunity, doubt is still a factor for their future. Take an African American man who wants to
become a business man for an example. The first question coming from a white person is, He is a
black person, so what does he know about conducting business? Secondly, he will be looked at
as if he is unskillful or does not have enough knowledge to become a business man. In the bigger
picture, it is not that a black man does not have the ability to be a business man, but he shouldnt
be placed in the advantage of being considered as someones boss simply because only a white
person has been entitled to that position in the past.
Serving justice is proper punishment and fair treatment given by the legal system.
Justice is not always served, but justice should always be served. The results of justice being
served are peaceful and bring happiness. When justice is not being served, it produces chaos and
brings protest. It is not common that just is served, therefore, an example of justice not being
served in the present day would be the Keith Lamont Scoot shooting in Charlotte, North
Carolina. Scott was shot and killed by a police officer when his book was assumed to be a gun.
Because he was killed by a white police officer, who was not held accountable, protest being.
The protest only led to more chaos and more shootings, which later led to future investigation.
There is no excuse for how the same situation can be considered different because of the skin
color of the individual. Although in present day, when considering my example, it is obvious that
this takes place. The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery for those not convicted of a crime, but
going back to the stereotype that African Americans are suspect put an African American in the

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situation where the 13th Amendment does not apply to them; its only for those who are not
convicted of a crime.
In conclusion, the 13th Amendment was put in place to formally abolish slavery (Primary
Documents). Because the 13th Amendment was passed for a reason and should always be
obeyed, it serves a purpose just as much as a law does. Stereotypes should not be used,
discrimination should not be done, and justice should always be served. Every person is human
and according to the 13th Amendment, those that are not convicted of a crime are equal. It does
not matter what color the skin is, where an individual or their ancestors come from or what their
past consists of because in result to the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendment all individuals are to
remain equal and should be treated equally. That is, if they have not been held accountable for a
crime.

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Works Cited
Primary Documents in American History. 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary
documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). The
Library of Congress, 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2016
The 13th Amendment: Slavery and Involuntary Servitude." Constitution Daily. NCC Staff, 05
Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
Thirteenth Amendment | HistoryNet, HistoryNet. World history Group, 2016. Web 09 Nov.
2016.