How visiting a slavery museum made me realize that legalized slavery still exists the U.S. and needs to end
Celebrating the 4th of July overseas can lead to new insights about America
The 4th of July the 4th gets observed and celebrated in all sorts of ways all over the U.S., overseas, its just another day. Whenever I’m overseas on the 4th, I try to observe or celebrate in some way.
Typically, that effort goes no further than looking for interesting 4th of July material on Twitter or catching a special July the 4th segment on CNN, but this year I did something different. I visited a nearby slavery museum in the Mercado de Escravos (Slave Market) building in Lagos, Portugal. While this museum had no direct connection with America’s history, the reality of slavery certainly does, and understanding the subject makes me appreciate the challenges the U.S. has overcome.
What I learned at the museum
Perhaps the most surprising fact that I discovered was that this is the building where slaves were first brought from Africa to Europe. This happened in 1444, almost 180 years before the first slaves were brought to Colonial America in 1619. The most unsurprising thing I learned was that the Portuguese government supported the early slave trade and that Portugal was an integral part of the slave trade well into the 19th century.
From education to reflection
While I was in the museum, it brought back memories of a news story I had read the previous month, just before Juneteenth, that discussed how slavery was not completely abolished after the U.S. Civil War and that it was still allowed by the Constitution. After visiting the slavery museum, I was motivated to find out more about how and why slavery was still legally possible in the U.S. I found that not only that a limited form of slavery still potentially legal in the United States, but that there was also an obvious way to take away any possibility of legal slavery in the U.S.
The Civil War and the 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was one of three Amendments, along with the 14th and 15th Amendments, that were ratified after the Civil War that addressed several aspects of slavery. The 13th Amendment, passed by Congress in January 1865 during the Civil War and ratified by the states in late 1865, about eight months after the end of the war, allowed one form of slavery to remain. The text of the Amendment follows:
AMENDMENT XIII
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
While this Amendment did away with most aspects of slavery, including the Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV, section 2 of the Constitution, it left open the possibility of legal slavery in the United States as punishment for crimes.
Eliminating slavery completely
I find the fact that slavery in any form is not only legal in the United States but is also enshrined in the Constitution is baffling, offensive, and unacceptable. While it would likely take a constitutional amendment to rid the United States of all forms of slavery, the pathway to doing so is quite clear. An amendment would take a combination of Congressional action to create a proposed amendment, followed by ratification by at least 38 of the 50 state legislatures.
Amendment language from the last session of Congress (the 117th that ended on January 3, 2023) was contained in a joint resolution that was proposed but not voted on by the House or Senate:
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude may be imposed as a punishment for a crime.”
This is a clear statement that would neutralize the exception to slavery that exists in the 13th Amendment. If anyone has a logical argument against this proposed amendment, I’d like to hear it.
From reflection to action
One action that you can take to eliminate slavery from the United States would be to ask anyone who holds any public office or who is a candidate for public office (local, county, state, or federal) the following question:
- Should slavery of any kind be legal in the United States?
If that politician says no, then they would probably be in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban all forms of slavery, and you should then ask this follow-up question:
- What do you plan to do to convince Congress and the state legislature to pass an amendment to eliminate slavery in the United States?
If that politician says something other than no, you have a sensible option that works for both current office holders and candidates for public office, do what you can to make sure the person loses the next election.
Related advice: How to ask a public official a question
Check out my short (less than two minutes long) video that provides tips on asking a public official a question.
