This day in history: House passes 13th amendment, abolishing slavery in US
(CBS DETROIT) - On this day in 1865, the House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States.
When the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln's goal was restoring the Union, according to History.com.
Early on in the war, the Union started to keep escaped enslaved people instead of returning them to their owners.
Then, in September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved people in states that rebelled against the Union.
This document did not free all enslaved people in the United States at the time, as it only applied to enslaved people in the Confederacy, and not those in border states, according to historians.
An amendment abolishing slavery passed the U.S. Senate in 1864 but did not pass in the House.
Lincoln returned to the White House and wanted the amendment to receive bipartisan support, but many resisted.
Congress passed the amendment 119 to 56 on Jan. 31, 1865, just above the two-thirds majority necessary to pass it. It was ratified in December 1865.
The amendment stated, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."