13th Amendment

(Newser) - Voters in three states approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fourth state rejected the move. The measures approved Tuesday curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Tennessee, and Vermont. In Oregon, "...

(Newser) - Mississippi has officially ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution—a mere 148 years after the amendment outlawing slavery cleared Congress and was sent to state legislatures for approval. Mississippi's legislature voted to ratify the amendment in 1995, but it never became official because the state never notified the...

(Newser) - It was only 15 seconds of fake history—but Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner owned up to them after a Connecticut lawmaker complained, reports Raw Story . Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney criticized the film for portraying two congressmen as voting against the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. "Representative Courtney is correct...