Last US state to repeal slavery

In 1995, Mississippi became the last state in America to ratify the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. It was a distant relative of abolitionists from Ohio and Tennessee who helped write it. In fact, slaveholding was still legal in all but one of fifty states until 1864 when Nevada abolished it.

On March 7, 1995, the state of Mississippi ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. This amendment was proposed in December of 1865, two hundred and twenty-one years ago. It took Mississippi two hundred and thirty-eight years to finally ratify it.

The 13th amendment has always been an interesting part of American history. The reason behind the abolishment of slavery was to enforce it as a moral need. It was thought that slaves would not be able to function as citizens with this law in place. The problem with the amendment is that it is often bypassed, even today, because there are others before it which are more important. For example, it was not made illegal to segregate blacks.

One of the first major steps that was taken after slavery had been abolished in 1865, was to give former slaves citizenship rights. It took many years for this right to be enforced. Those who were against this equalization of citizens claimed that they would not be able to function as productive citizens without the help of the white man. It was believed that their lack of education and training would make them dependent on the government for survival, which is not something they wanted to deal with after slavery had been abolished.

This fear was what led to many Southern states to devise ways in which it could nullify this amendment, all while avoiding prosecution. Some examples of these methods included:

• The use of vagrancy and voter registration laws to prevent former slaves from becoming successful. This method has also been used in the North, especially against immigrants and minorities. However, it is more common in the South due to its history with slavery
• The use of poll taxes to stop minorities from voting.
• The three fifths compromise which gave political power to slaveholders by counting slaves as property, not people. A similar principle is used today in the electoral college giving more power to states with higher populations, even though every citizen has one vote per state in the election.

It’s been 150 years since the 13th amendment was ratified, and some states are only now approving it. It took a lot of violence for those who were enslaved to be freed from their shackles. Today, many people still suffer because they can’t vote due to poverty or lack of identification documents like birth certificates and driver licenses. Minorities in particular may not have the same access as other citizens do when it comes to voting rights.