5 States Voted to Remove Slavery From Their Own Constitution. Why Won’t the Rest of America?
Almost 160 years ago, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery across the Unites States. However, there was an exception made in the amendment that is often overlooked and forgotten, still existing in the constitutions of 19 states across the country. This past midterm election, 5 states voted to eliminate or revise this exception in their own constitution, even though slavery would still be legal under the federal government. All were passed except for Louisiana.
Ratified in 1865, the 13th Amendment stated, "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."
During Reconstruction, this exception clause strategically targeted Black individuals, and increased the incarceration and ultimately the re-enslavement of Black people through “convict-leasing.” Today, this exception has allowed for prisons to continue the practice of slavery by forcingincarcerated individuals to work for little to no pay. This means that 2 million people are legally subject to slavery or involuntary servitude, if the states are willing to take advantage of this clause.
The five states that voted to amend their own constitutions include Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, and Vermont– some of the most conservative and liberal states in America. Each state voted to amend their constitution differently, and by doing so, they would be joining Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska, who each amended their constitutions within the past two years.
Vermont and Oregon, ranked second and eighth of the most liberal states in America, went above and beyond to amend their constitutions. Vermont, which was the first state to outlaw slavery, changed their constitution to read, “That all persons are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety; therefore slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.” Oregon did not just get rid of the exceptions clause, but they will also append the constitution to read “‘programs to be ordered as part of sentencing,’ such as ones for education, counseling, treatment and community service.” While all of these bills address the issue of mass incarceration, Oregon’s movement aims to reform the criminal justice system even further.
Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana, were ranked third, sixth, and eighth respectively as the most conservative states in America and fourth, eighth, and sixth in the states with the largest slave population at the start of the Civil War. However they were working hard to rectify their constitutions despite their history. Louisiana, however, was not able to pass the bill.
Alabama voted to amend their constitution to simply say “That no form of slavery shall exist in this state; and there shall not be any involuntary servitude.” Tennessee, on the other hand, voted on slavery and indentured servitude becoming “forever prohibited” and “nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime.
On the other hand, Louisiana rejected the referendum. Voters did not vote for their constitution to remove an exception concerning those convicted of a crime but would add a phrase clarifying that this “does not apply to the otherwise lawful administration of criminal justice.” Experts say this could have been due to ambiguous language on the ballot.
These efforts among these five states were a part of a national movement to amend the 13th Amendment in order to decrease the exploitation of labor of incarcerated individuals. A joint resolution was proposed by Congressional Democrats to get rid of the exceptions clause in 2020, but it has yet to be passed by the Senate and Congress. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, one of the leaders of this amendment, argued “legalized slavery has bent the American criminal justice system, fanned the flames of mass incarceration, and stripped millions of people— particularly Black Americans and people of color—of their most basic human rights.” Nevertheless, experts say the likelihood of the resolution being passed is poor, as amendments are hardly passed in the United States
In order for our country to live up to their promise of unalienable rights, slavery must be removed once and for all. If the entire country is not willing to do so, then states must take the matter into their own hands.
Kiran Yeh is a junior and Law and Society major at Brooklyn Technical High School and a Next Gen Civic Fellow. Kiran is a section editor in her school’s newspaper, The Survey, and has written for other publications previously. She has been involved in political campaigns and is most interested in writing articles regarding politics.