Video: 'The 13th Amendment Explained: The Constitution for Dummies'

(Monday, December 18, 1865) — The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect today by Secretary of State William H. Seward, having been ratified by three-quarters of the states (including those in secession) as of Dec. 6, 1865.

Slavery is legally outlawed in the last two slave states of Kentucky and Delaware and the remaining 45,000 slaves are freed.