Proposal and Ratification
The Thirteenth Amendment was proposed by the Thirty-eighth United States Congress, on January 31, 1865. The amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865, when Georgia ratified it. On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward, proclaimed the amendment to have been ratified by the legislatures of 27 of the then 36 states. The ratification dates are:
- Illinois (February 1, 1865)
- Rhode Island (February 2, 1865)
- Michigan (February 3, 1865)
- Maryland (February 3, 1865)
- New York (February 3, 1865)
- Pennsylvania (February 3, 1865)
- West Virginia (February 3, 1865)
- Missouri (February 6, 1865)
- Maine (February 7, 1865)
- Kansas (February 7, 1865)
- Massachusetts (February 7, 1865)
- Virginia (February 9, 1865) - first former Confederate State to ratify the amendment, two months before Lee's surrender (in Virginia)
- Ohio (February 10, 1865)
- Indiana (February 13, 1865)
- Nevada (February 16, 1865)
- Louisiana (February 17, 1865)
- Minnesota (February 23, 1865)
- Wisconsin (February 24, 1865)
- Vermont (March 8, 1865)
- Tennessee (April 7, 1865)
- Arkansas (April 14, 1865)
- Connecticut (May 4, 1865)
- New Hampshire (July 1, 1865)
- South Carolina (November 13, 1865)
- Alabama (December 2, 1865)
- North Carolina (December 4, 1865)
- Georgia (December 6, 1865)
Ratification was completed on December 6, 1865. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:
- Oregon (December 8, 1865)
- California (December 19, 1865)
- Florida (December 28, 1865, reaffirmed on June 9, 1869)
- Iowa (January 15, 1866)
- New Jersey (January 23, 1866, after having rejected it on March 16, 1865)
- Texas (February 18, 1870)
- Delaware (February 12, 1901, after having rejected it on February 8, 1865)
- Kentucky (March 18, 1976, after having rejected it on February 24, 1865)
- Mississippi (March 16, 1995, after having rejected it on December 5, 1865)
Read more about this topic: Thirteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution