February 1, 1865: Lincoln signs the 13th Amendment officially abolishing slavery in the United States.
You are there: As the Civil War nears an end, President Lincoln fears that Congress will fail to pass a Constitutional Amendment ending slavery – and, absent that, the lives of Blacks in the South might go unchanged during Reconstruction.
He is determined to pass a bill before the war ends and submits one in April 1864. It passes easily in the Senate by a 38-6 margin, but meets resistance in the House where the count — 93 aye vs. 65 nay and 23 abstaining – is well short of the 2/3rds majority required.
Some of this opposition actually comes from with Lincoln’s advisors, who fear that passage will signal that the war was about abolition rather than saving the Union.
The rest traces to Democratic opponents who announce various criticisms.
Sam Cox of Ohio cites the threat to states’ rights: “Do you not wish us to annul the municipal control of each State over domestic matters?”
Kentucky’s Lazarus Powell is especially outspoken, first on the protection of property – “I do not believe it was ever designed by the founders of our Government that the Constitution of the United States should be so amended as to destroy property” – and then on racial prejudice:
“The Negro is an inferior man, and no fanaticism can raise him to the talent of the Caucasian race. The white man is his superior, and will be so whether you call him a slave or an equal. It has ever been so, and I can see no reason why the history of all the past should be reversed.”
The ex-Mayor of New York City, Fernando Woods, adds his own brand of dramatic rhetoric:
“It will involve the extermination of the white men of the southern states.”
Others fear that after freedom will come citizenship along with voting rights (which in fact does happen in July 1868 with the 14th Amendment).
Lincoln sees that he has a real fight on his hands in the House and pulls out all of the stops to pass the bill. His main spokesman on the floor is Pennsylvania’s Thaddeus Stevens, an avowed abolitionist known for his sharp tongue and capacity to humiliate his rivals.
But behind the scenes, votes are traded off for promises of promotions or new federal jobs. Lincoln himself engages in intense lobbying, while casting the bill is a war measure going beyond slavery.
On February 1, 1864, the President prevails. The final balloting comes in at 119-56, two votes over the 117 minimum need to pass.
