On this day 156 years ago, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. This was the brainchild of Abraham Lincoln, and it completely ended slavery in the United States, eight months after Robert E. Lee’s surrender. That’s right, for eight months after the Civil War ended, slavery was still legal in some parts of the U.S.A.
This year Congress created a new federal holiday, called “Juneteenth.” Juneteenth will fall on June 19th of every year, except when it occurs on the weekend, in which case it will fall on Friday, the 18th, or Monday, the 20th. It commemorates the end of slavery in Texas, which was the last Confederate state to allow slave ownership. This end occurred on June 19th, 1865.
However, slavery was still legal in two border states that had not joined the Confederacy. These were Delaware and Kentucky. Slavery had already been prohibited in the other two borders states, Missouri and Maryland, by state legislative action.

On December 6th, 1865, Georgia became the 27th state to approve the Thirteenth Amendment, making it an official part of our Constitution. It’s ironic that manumission was inaugurated by a former slave state of the Deep South. But let’s be real. This was more like a transfer of ownership from plantations to a fellow named Jim Crow. Conditions for African-Americans immediately after the Civil War may have been a step up from antebellum days, but I wouldn’t call it a giant leap.
Let’s also be real about slavery in general. Can it really be abolished? Or is it an integral part of human nature? From what I’ve seen, slavery is all around us. It seems to me that humans love trying to enslave each other.
For instance, have your ever loaned money to someone, and not been paid back? You worked hard for that money. So you became the borrower’s slave.
Are you working hard to pay off credit cards that charge interest at usury rates? Now you’re the borrower, but still a slave.
Are you always doing favors for someone, who never returns favors? Slavery.
Addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs? This is slavery to the purveyors of those substances.
Can’t stop blogging? Don’t want to let your followers down? You could be a blogoholic slave.
Are you working two or more jobs at minimum wage, and barely making ends meet? Some would call you a wage-slave.
Do your kids do chores without pay? If so then you’re the master and they’re your little slaves.
Yep, slavery is all over the place. Ever check out those tags on the clothes you buy? Most clothing sold in America is produced in third world countries, and often by children working long hours in factories under miserable conditions, for meager pay. How is this not slavery?
The coffles of illegal immigrants flooding across our borders contain our imported slaves. We can thank slavery for some of those nice fruits and vegetables sold cheap at the supermarket.
Sex trafficking? That’s a euphemism for sex slavery.
My wife gave me a honeydew list. Slavery, in my view.
My boss at work always appreciated it when employees worked off-the-clock, or through their lunch breaks. And this kept him off their backs. He understood the value of slavery.
Slavery is so much a part of the human condition, and of every culture, that I don’t think there’s any way to completely escape it. The best we can do is avoid it as much as possible. So try to keep people from exploiting you. And try to avoid exploiting others. Don’t expect anyone to be your slave.
And then you will honor the true spirit of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Categories: History
You are right about there still being slavery around, you made good points. Like you pointed out money is a huge thing to be a slave to and so many are! My friend and I were just talking this morning about how it can create such huge problems in marriages!
I had read somewhere but forget where, that the number of sex slaves today is higher than the number of slaves back in that time. SAD!
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It’s ironic that we can buy our freedom with money, but that we have to be a slave to money until we can buy our freedom.
That’s a lot of sex slaves. I didn’t know that sex slavery was that big.
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Irony for sure!
Yes, human trafficking is huge. More needs to be done about it!
Once again money comes into play. A large money maker!
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I’ll bet the local cops are on the take. If anyone runs away to the police, I’ll bet they get returned.
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Sadly, I don’t doubt that. Not with all the cops but yes I am sure there are some. Its a big ring.
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I think that generally sex slavery is ignored by law enforcement because A. it is not obviously violent, and B. nobody really complains I guess because they can’t.
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I think also they get the girls (and often they are girls and not women) hooked on drugs. Escaping would mean no more drugs for them.
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And they are probably runaways with nowhere to go elsewise. Law enforcement is generally much more interesting in drug trafficking than it is in people trafficking I think.
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I think so too. Often they run away for a very good reason. Maybe they figure it’s better to be a sex slave than to be back living with their hellish parents.
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A tragic situation all the way around.
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A lot of them are refugees and poor people too, promised money.
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This is totally changing the subject but have to share it. We are watching Shark Tank and a lady came on selling Vietnamese coffee. She passed around the coffee for everyone to try and the one guy made a face when trying it and said, “Does it need to be so sweet?” Made me think of you. LOL!
I told Brad I need Vietnamese coffee. 🙂
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Coffee is poison. We lost the Vietnam War precisely because we drank their coffee.
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Oh gosh! The reason has finally been uncovered by the great,wise Tippy!
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You know it!
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Sitting here with my evening, coffee-press espresso… I’m VERY familiar with the Southeast Asian Heaven of Vietnamese Cà Phê Sữa Đá on a hot day! Super-caffeinated, super-rich Robusta, brewed into the consistency of something like gear-oil, mixed with condensed milk and poured over ice. Sorry, but I have to leave a link to an old article (replace the “[DOT]”):
luminousaether.wordpress[DOT]com/2014/10/07/enlightenment-in-a-cup/
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On an unrelated note, it looks like I won’t be traveling to Santa Cruz this week, after all. I have some unexpected health issues to deal with, so we’ve postponed the trip.
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I was wondering about Santa Cruz. Sorry, it won’t work out. I hope the health issues get taken care of and that it isn’t anything to serious.
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It’s getting looked into, today. I have a very bad sinus infection. I’m just hoping they don’t amputate.
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Ugh! Sinus infections can be painful and gee if amputation is required than you definitely have a bad one!
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It’s been a painful journey these past few days. But I’m trying not to lose my head over it.
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That would be sad if you did, so try hard, you doolally!
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Well, I just got back from the dentist. Apparently my sinus infection was caused by an abscessed tooth that requires a root canal. So, instead of going on a nice vacation to the beach on Thursday, I’ll be getting a root canal that day. 😒
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Ouch! Sorry! The beach definitely would have been better! 😨
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No kidding. This is like one of those stories you write for Tippner.
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Haha! I am not that mean to poor Tippner. 😄
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I.am thirsty now. 🙂 Will check out your post.
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Interesting in the context of my last article. Nietzsche saw “freedom” as something personal, writing in Twilight of the Idols that, “Freedom is the will to be responsible for ourselves. It is to preserve the distance which separates us from other men. To grow more indifferent to hardship, to severity, to privation, and even to life itself.”
He was suggesting that we are all enslaved by existing, subject to the demands of nature, the struggle to survive and the fear of loss. We have no choice in the matter. The only distinction in what constitutes the moral definition of “slavery” is in not preserving that “distance which separates us from other men“… when the slavery-to-life of one is compelled to become the suffering of another.
Interesting also that you too equate theft with slavery (I agree). But many things can be stolen… money and property, of course… but also time, works, affections… It becomes difficult to determine what constitutes “just” compensation, especially for that to which we attach emotional or moral values.
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Nietzshe’s ideas sure give one pause to consider.
Oh yeah, there’s all kinds of things that can be stolen from us. We have to always be on the watch. I think that in many ways, it’s a cat and mouse game we play in this world.
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I sometimes feel like my blog controls me, rather than the other way around…
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Same here. I fear that we may be blog slaves.
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👍
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