A debate has emerged regarding the interpretation of the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which reads, '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.' Some commentators argue that this clause was intentionally written to permit a form of slavery, with the South exploiting this 'legalistic workaround' immediately after the amendment's ratification. Others, however, contend that this reading is an 'offensively clueless misconception' of history and law, asserting that convict leasing, a system that emerged post-amendment, was not foreseen by the amendment's drafters and may even violate the amendment itself. The discussion also touches on the role of the Library of Congress in interpreting such legislative language, emphasizing the importance of understanding the intentions behind legislative language.
The 13th Amendment allows for slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. "But that's not what they meant!" is a useful excuse for ignoring loopholes in the text of a statute or constitutional provision. We should expect better from those who write our laws. https://t.co/zdJp6oAIzA
This is specifically false. Convict leasing, though clearly a legalistic workaround designed to reconstruct elements of the slave labor system, was not envisioned by the drafters of the 13th Amendment (and I’d argue, is really a violation of it). https://t.co/y3D77vQ6ss
The people who wrote the 13th amendment knew its ramifications. Part of the way they got the 13th amendment ratified was by including a provision allowing for prisoner slave labor. The south immediately exploited the loophole. Will is arguing with the Library of Congress. https://t.co/C67Z5ZqP3R https://t.co/Q1MSFb6vDz
Guys, in all seriousness, the idea that the 13th Amendment legalized slavery or, my god, was INTENTIONALLY WRITTEN to legalize slavery is wrong, wrong, wrong. It’s an almost offensively clueless misconception of history and law based on dim textual literalism.
13th Amendment: “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.” https://t.co/MbZrK1b3iF