Impact of the Ratification of the 13th Amendment on Commerce Essay

Background Information on the Thirteenth Amendment: The 13th amendment to the United States’ constitution was introduced in order to free the slaves from slavery and make united states a free country by abolishing and prohibiting slavery. This amendment finalized the abolition of slave trade in the United States. The 13th amendment has its origin in the proposition made by Abraham Lincoln to his cabinet in relation to the freeing of all slaves in the rebellious states. It was proposed by the 38th congress of the United States and passed by the senate on 8th April 1864 before being adopted on the 6th of December in 1865 following the announcement of the secretary of state who declared it to have been adopted. President Lincoln made an emancipation proclamation which was aimed at outlawing slavery in the ten confederation states which resulted in the abolition of slavery in the confederate states. However slave trade continued on the Border States until the thirteenth amendment was formulated. This amendment ended slavery in all parts of the United States including the Border States. Section 1 of this amendment provides that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States except in conditions where the individual was being punished because of crimes committed. The ratification of this amendment was completed on 6th December 1865 following the approval by most of the states (Goluboff 1609). The ratification of the 13th amendment had a significant impact on commerce since slaves were the main source of labor in most industries, factories and agricultural plantations. After this ratification, slaves were released from plantations and factories which forced more white men to work in plantations and fa... ...y or other heavy equipments. There was a significant decline in exports in these states which was followed by the collapse of their currency and this made it difficult for these states to obtain credit (Engerman 208).Significant reduction in agricultural production across the state resulted in scarcity of agricultural commodities which in turn increased the prices of agricultural products as well as export surpluses. References Goluboff, R. (2001). The 13th amendment and the lost origins of civil rights. Duke Law Journal, 50 (228): 1609 Engerman, S.L. (1982). Economic adjustments to emancipation in the United States and British West Indies. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 13(2): 191 – 220 McGlynn, F., and Drescher, S. (1992). The meaning of freedom economics, politics and culture after slavery. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press.