ST. LOUIS – On this day 160 years ago, Missouri Senator John Brooks Henderson introduced what would become the 13th Amendment of the constitution, abolishing slavery.
It said, “Slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, shall not exist in the United States.” The final draft was approved by the Senate three months later.
It wouldn’t pass the house until January 1865. Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment, followed by Missouri a week later.
On December 18, 1865, the U.S. as a whole ratified the 13th Amendment, and slavery was constitutionally abolished.
