Teaching with
State Standards
U.S. History I, Topic 5
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Analyze the consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction (e.g., the physical and economic destruction of the South and the loss of life of both Southern and Northern troops; the increased role of the federal government; the impeachment of President Johnson; the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments; the expansion of the industrial capacity of the Northern U.S.; the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau and organizations such as the American League of Colored Laborers, the National Negro Labor Council, the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union; the accomplishments and failures of Radical Reconstruction; the presidential election of 1876; and the end of Reconstruction).
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Analyze the long-term consequences of one aspect of the Jim Crow era (1870s–1960s) that limited educational and economic opportunities for African Americans (e.g., segregated public schools, white supremacist beliefs, the threat of violence from extra-legal groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the 1896 Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, and the Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka
U.S. History II, Topic 4
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Evaluate accomplishments of the Civil Rights movement (e.g., the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act) and how they served as a model for the later feminist, disability, and gender rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries; collect and analyze demographic data to investigate trends from 1964 to 2010 in areas such as voter registration and participation, median family income, or educational attainment among African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and white populations.
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​Research and analyze issues related to race relations in the United States since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including: the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and its impact on neighborhood integration; policies, court cases, and practices regarding affirmative action and their impact on diversity in the workforce and higher education; disparities and trends in educational achievement and attainment, health outcomes, wealth and income, and rates of incarceration; the election of the nation’s first African American president, Barack Obama, in 2008 and 2012.
Continuing the Conversation
Brief History
While recognized as the “land of the free,” the United States is home to the highest incarceration rates in the world. The U.S. is home to 5% of the world’s population and has 25% of the world’s prisoners.¹ This is a culmination of events that stemmed from the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In December 1865, the United States ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which declared, “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 subject to their jurisdiction.”¹ This amendment ended slavery as an institution, but not as a social, cultural, or political practice. The criminality clause created a way for slavery to exist in an alternate form, including convict leasing, Jim Crow segregation, and mass incarceration.
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The following sources and activities connect the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to issues of race relations in the United States from the 20th century to today.
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Framing Questions
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What are the lasting effects of slavery on modern society?
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In what ways did the 13th Amendment solve and create problems?
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How has the interpretation of the 13th Amendment changed over time?
Framing Questions
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What are the lasting effects of slavery on modern society?
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In what ways did the 13th Amendment solve and create problems?
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How has the interpretation of the 13th Amendment changed over time?
Framing Questions
13th Documentary
This powerful documentary focuses on the rise of mass incarceration in the United States. 13th claims people and institutions of power have found a way to continue to target and subjugate black Americans (and other people of color) through the “loophole” in the 13th Amendment, which states that criminals can be enslaved. The film tracks the progression of the “War on Drugs” through the second half of the 20th century and politicians equating “black” to “criminal” during this time. This discussion ends with recent movements for social justice (Black Lives Matter) and criminal justice reform to try to amend 50 years of a different, legal form of enslavement of people of color.
We have offered discussion questions for the introduction of the film and have incorporated other clips in activities when appropriate.
Film Clip
Beginning until 4:46
Activists, politicians, and scholars respond to the issue of mass incarceration in the United States via a glimpse into the past. The root of this issue stems back to the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment and the criminalization clause it included. White Americans began to use the clause and racist rhetoric as a way to criminalize black Americans and rebuild the economy of the south. As a result, black Americans were incarcerated at a higher rate. This clip demonstrates how the issue of mass incarceration is deeply embedded in the nation’s past.
Questions
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What is the 13th Amendment’s role in the problem of mass incarceration today?
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What were the immediate effects of the abolition of slavery?
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What is the “loophole” in the 13th Amendment, and how did it affect freed African Americans?
Primary Source Analysis
13th amendment
For more information, see “Defining Freedom,” a Facing History lesson plan on the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.
Activities & Assignments
barometer activity
Through watching clips, students will determine to what degree they agree with a statement about the U.S.’s criminal justice system. (“Barometer Activity" structure based on Facing History and Ourselves)
