Has Slavery Really Ended and Has the Three-Fifths Clause Truly Been Amended?

AMENDMENT XIII

(Proposed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.)

"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

As I sat in class and read this, it was no wonder to me how the new form of slavery has become the modern prison system. The institution of slavery originated as indentured servitude where people indebted to their creditors would become "servants" of said creditor until their debt has been paid off. Actual slavery, in regards to people of Africa began as the stealing or kidnapping of humans to be used as slaves with no debts being owed and as a better solution to using Native Americans who knew how to navigate the land and reclaim their freedom. Although the thirteenth amendment is the ONLY document to emancipate slavery it left room to create a system that would allows for "criminals" to engage in free labor. So it is no wonder why people of color, especially Blacks and Latinos, have the highest percentage of imprisonment. When the constitution was written, it was written for white males who owned land, and if you owned land it meant you had some type of monetary power. With that being said, people of color were not included into the constitution until 1865. The only mention of people of color was in respect to the three-fifths clause of slaves and the non-citizenship of Native Americans.

My initial reason for writing this was to state how the three-fifths clause was supposedly amended with the fourteenth amendment, which I am going to speak on in a moment. Thirteenth amendment happened to catch my eye and I was moved to give my opinion on how there is no coincidence that people of color occupy the majority of prison systems.

AMENDMENT XIV

(Proposed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868)

Section 1. "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."



This is section one of the fourteenth amendment. I am assuming the part which amends the three-fifths clause begins with giving citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US. All this really says is that they have been granted citizenship. The second sentence says that their privileges shall not be taken away and blacks are guaranteed full rights. This says nothing about amending the three-fifths clause. It does not change the way blacks in America are counted in regards to the voting system in respect to how representatives are chosen. So in cities and states where white supremacy still operate the political system, the black vote still may only count as 60% of a full vote. And another to think about is if in fact this three-fifths clause is still in operation, how does that affect the census? Blacks currently make up approximately 12.4% of America's population which is equivalent to 37.1 million people. Meaning that if this clause is still being implemented...there are more black people in America that are not being counted.


**This is just something to think about. Its not necessarily fact but with the way blacks are treated...the idea may not be far-fetched.**