Abraham Lincoln Approval Signature 13th Amendment Poster

While the slaves in the rebellious states were declared free, that left the states that remained in the Union that allowed slavery. But, the stage had been set for the ultimate destruction of slavery. It would be unthinkable to free the slaves for the war and then enslave them again after the war. But, that required a constitutional amendment. The US Senate easily passed the amendment in April 1864 but the House was being stubborn and after pressure from Lincoln and the Radical Republicans, enough Congressmen were convinced it was in their best interest to vote for passage of the 13th Amendment that it was adopted by the House on January 31, 1865. Note Lincoln's Signature and "approved" In Middle of Amendment From there it went on to the states for ratification and became the law of the land on December 6 1865. But, when it went to the state legislatures it had a little something extra…a little lagniappe as they say in Cajun Country. On This Date in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln for some reason affixed his signature to the amendment next to the word “approved” and the date, February 1, 1865. What is wrong with this picture? What’s wrong is that the Constitution does to ask for nor require a presidential signature nor approval for amendments. Article V merely says that, if Congress wishes to propose and amendment, that 2/3 of both houses of Congress must pass the amendment and then 3/4 of the state legislatures must follow suit. If presidential approval was needed, then conceivably a president might stand in the way of the will of the people and that’s not good. It’s unclear why Lincoln chose to approve the amendment except for perhaps the political purpose of making it clear that he fully approved and, since he had just won re-election, that might help persuade legislatures to approve the amendment. So, Lincoln never lived to see the slavery ended, but he had to have known with the Union victory, that goal had been fulfilled. Sign up to Mr. Rebates for FREE and save 12% on any zazzle order in addition to a $5.00 sign up bonus All Rights Reserved; without: prejudice, recourse or notice (U.C.C. 1-308) "13th amendment" "thirteenth amendment" "abraham lincoln" "president lincoln" radification "amendment ratification" "constitutional amendment" "constitutional amendment ratification" abolition "slavery abolition" "american history" constitution "u.s. constitution" "us constitution" "united states constitution" slavery "president approval" "civil war" "american civil war"