The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It states, "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"
. This amendment was a crucial step in ending slavery in the United States and is one of the trio of Civil War amendments that greatly expanded the civil rights of Americans
