Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
This document shows the Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, more commonly referred to as the 13th Amendment. The document passed in the Senate in April 1864 but faced initial rejection in the House. President Abraham Lincoln took a more active role in pushing the bill forward, and finally, in January 1865, it was approved by a vote of 119–56. On February 1, 1865, President Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress (even though presidents have no role in the amendment process). The proposed amendment was then submitted to the state legislatures. The amendment received the necessary number of states (three-fourths) to have it ratified on December 6, 1865. Together with the 14th and 15th Amendments, this document laid the groundwork for subsequent civil rights legislation.
The Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, along with other original public acts, private acts, and joint resolutions of the United States signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the President of the United States can be found among the record series Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789–2013 in Record Group 11: General Records of the United States Government, 1778–2006. The full document has been digitized and can be viewed on the National Archives Catalog.
Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. National Archives Identifier: 1408764
View and download the Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on the National Archives Catalog. You can explore more of our holdings by visiting our online Catalog or by visiting the National Archives in Washington, DC. This record is located with Record Group 11: General Records of the United States Government, Series: Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789–2013. Many of the records in this collection have yet to be digitized. We encourage researchers to visit us onsite to explore these records and learn more about the archival collections held in the National Archives in Washington, DC.