History
The Thirteenth Amendment
Section 1
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.
Source: National Archive
The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is recognized by many as the formal abolition of slavery in the United States. However, it only ended chattel slavery – slavery in which an individual is considered the personal property of another. Additionally, it has a loophole where if a person “commits” a crime, it is legal to be forced into involuntary servitude.
In a system where Black and Brown people are unfairly convicted this clause has allowed for the continuous violation of freedom. The correctional system itself is created to suppress the people. Policing is a direct descendant of slave patrols. Slave Patrols were created to return slaves who were seeking freedom. After the Civil War, this group existed but rebranded as militant groups that enforced Black Code and denied rights to Black Americans. This hatred continued to be reorganized under different names and groups with the same initial cruelty and unjust systems.
A Timeline of Prison Labor
1865 – The Thirteenth Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery except as punishment for a crime. This loophole allowed slavery to persist through other avenues
Post-Civil War – Black Codes
Southern states passed Black Codes, forcing Black people into apprenticeships or labor contracts (often with former enslavers). Vagrancy laws and convict leasing fueled arrests and re-enslavement.
Late 1800s–1960s – Jim Crow Era
Jim Crow laws entrenched segregation and criminalized Black life. Black Americans were often arrested without cause at the discretion of white authorities, keeping racial control through incarceration.
1970s – Prison Expansion Begins
Jim Crow laws entrenched segregation and criminalized Black life. Black Americans were often arrested without cause at the discretion of white authorities, keeping racial control through incarceration.
1985 and 1995- Explosive Growth
Between 1985 and 1995 alone, the total prison population grew an average of eight percent annually. And between 1990 and 1995, all states, with the exception of Maine, substantially increased their prison populations, from 13% in South Carolina to as high as 130% in Texas. The federal system grew 53% larger during this five-year period alone
Mass Incarceration
Mass incarceration is used to describe how the United States system imprisons an exceedingly high number of people, especially poor people of color. This is not a system designed to protect people but one built to limit their rights. Its impact extends far beyond prison walls—affecting families, communities, and the lives of formerly incarcerated people long after their release.
Many factors fuel mass incarceration, but two of the most significant are poverty and race. These systemic inequities shape who is most vulnerable to arrest, conviction, and long-term consequences.
Sources
1) The 13th Amendment and Emancipation