On Jan. 31, 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the U.S. The amendment 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.”The 13th Amendment, ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, came after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, which declared "that all persons held as slaves" in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." However, the proclamation did not apply to the border states that had not seceded from the U.S. or in areas that had been captured by the Union.An amendment abolishing slavery was passed in the U.S. Senate in 1864 but failed to pass in the House as Democrats voted against it in the name of states’ rights. The measure was again put to a vote in 1865, this time when Republicans had significant majorities in congress, and passed 119 to 56, just over the required two-thirds majority. Lincoln approved the resolution a day later, and it was sent to the states for ratification, which happened in December 1865.The 13th Amendment was a pivotal step in expanding the civil rights of all Americans. However, the effort to achieve full equality has continued into the 21st century.