Following the creation of theUnited States in 1776 and the ratification of theU.S. Constitution in 1789, the legal status of slavery was generally a matter for individualU.S. state legislatures and judiciaries (outside of several historically significant exceptions including theNorthwest Ordinance of 1787, the 1808Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, the 1820Missouri Compromise, theFugitive Slave Act of 1850, theDred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857, et al.)
As such, slavery flourished in some states (mostly southern), and withered on the vine in others (mostly northern). On the whole, the formerThirteen Colonies abolished slavery relatively slowly, if at all, with several Northern states usinggradual emancipation systems in which freedom would be granted after so many years of life or service. (Vermont and New York had clear and absolute freedom dates; Massachusetts and New Hampshire werede facto free states with total abolition from the American Revolution forward.)
For many years after the establishment of the republic, new states were admitted in pairs, so-calledfree state–slave state twins, so that some states entered the Union with guaranteed "free soil" while their twin permitted the continuation and expansion of America's peculiar institution. Fifteen states (in order of admission,Delaware,Georgia,Maryland,South Carolina,Virginia,North Carolina,Kentucky,Tennessee,Louisiana,Mississippi,Alabama,Missouri,Arkansas,Florida, andTexas) never sought to end slavery, and thus bondage and theslave trade continued in those places, and there was even amovement to reopen the transatlantic slave trade. With the admission of California, Oregon, and Iowa as free states, and the prospective admission ofKansas Territory (likely as a free state), with the commensurate increasing political power of free-state legislators in theUnited States Congress, the political status quo began to disintegrate. This shift convinced theSlave Power's mostinfluential and vocal leaders thatsecession was the only way to retain long-term control of both their wealth held in slaves and their political power. (Under theThree-Fifths Compromise brokered at the 1787Constitutional Convention, enslaved people were considered additional population for purposes ofapportionment. The prospective end of slavery would have thus deprived slave owners of the disproportionate representation of their interests in the national legislature, relative not just the people they enslaved but to free white male voters in other states.) Ultimately, a massive and devastating four-year-long war resolved the interstate conflict over slavery, and whenrebel state governments were finally overwhelmed by force of arms, various civilian and military representatives of the U.S. government emancipated those people who remained legally enslaved.Slavery in the United States was legally abolished nationwide within the 36 newly reunited states under theThirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, effective December 18, 1865.
Slavery in theIndian Territory was abolished in 1866 by a series of treaties made with each of theFive Civilized Tribes in series, agreements known today as theReconstruction Treaties.[1]
Thefederal district, which is legally part of no state and under the sole jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, permitted slavery until the American Civil War. For the history of the abolition of the slave trade in the district and the federal government's one and onlycompensated emancipation program, seeslavery in the District of Columbia.
Color key:
United States allegiance during the American Civil War
Confederate States allegiance during the American Civil War
Dual allegiance, disputed allegiance, or new state during the American Civil War
| State | Civil War allegiance | Date ratified 13th Amendment[2] | Prior state-wide abolition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Main article:History of slavery in Alabama | CSA | December 2, 1865 | ||
| Arkansas Main article:History of slavery in Arkansas | CSA | April 14, 1865 | ||
| California Main articles:History of slavery in California andForced labor in California | USA | December 20, 1865 | September 9, 1850 (statehood)[3] | |
| Connecticut Main article:History of slavery in Connecticut | USA | May 4, 1865 | 1784 (gradual) 1848 (full)[4] | Connecticut passed partial abolition laws and time-delayed manumission laws beginning in 1784.[4] |
| Delaware Main article:History of slavery in Delaware | USA | February 19, 1901 | Delaware was a slave state but did not secede to the Confederacy. | |
| Florida Main article:History of slavery in Florida | CSA | December 28, 1865 | ||
| Georgia Main article:History of slavery in Georgia | CSA | December 6, 1865 | ||
| Illinois Main article:History of slavery in Illinois | USA | February 1, 1865 | April 1, 1848[5] | Chattel slavery was prohibited in Illinois at statehood under the terms of theNorthwest Ordinance; indentured servitude was not prohibited until theSecond Illinois Constitution of 1848.[5] |
| Indiana Main article:History of slavery in Indiana | USA | February 6, 1865 | December 11, 1816 (statehood)[6] | |
| Iowa Main article:History of slavery in Iowa | USA | January 17, 1866 | December 28, 1846 (statehood)[7] | |
| Kansas Main articles:History of slavery in Kansas andBleeding Kansas | USA | February 7, 1865 | January 29, 1861 (statehood)[8] | |
| Kentucky Main article:History of slavery in Kentucky | Dual government | March 18, 1976 | ||
| Louisiana Main article:History of slavery in Louisiana | CSA | February 1865 | Louisiana ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on either Feb. 15 or 16. | |
| Maryland Main article:History of slavery in Maryland | USA | February 3, 1865 | November 1, 1864[9] | |
| Massachusetts Main article:History of slavery in Massachusetts | USA | February 7, 1865 | 1783 (supreme court) | Massachusetts was for intents and purposes a free state with total abolition from the American Revolution forward.[10] |
| Maine | USA | February 7, 1865 | March 15, 1820 (statehood)[11] | The pre-statehoodDistrict of Maine was legally a part of Massachusetts; Maine was admitted as Missouri's free-state "twin" under the Missouri Compromise. |
| Michigan Main article:History of slavery in Michigan | USA | February 2, 1865 | January 26, 1837 (statehood)[12] | |
| Minnesota Main article:History of slavery in Minnesota | USA | February 23, 1865 | May 11, 1858 (statehood)[13] | |
| Missouri Main articles:History of slavery in Missouri andMissouri Compromise | Dual government | February 6, 1865 | ||
| Mississippi Main article:History of slavery in Mississippi | CSA | February 7, 2013[14] | ||
| Nevada | USA | February 16, 1865 | October 31, 1864 (statehood)[a] | Nevada was admitted to the Union during the Civil War, thus its state nickname isBattle-Born. |
| New Hampshire Main article:History of New Hampshire § Slavery in New Hampshire | USA | June 30, 1865 | The legal status of slavery in New Hampshire has been described as "ambiguous,"[16] and abolition legislation was minimal or non-existent.[17] New Hampshire never passed a state law abolishing slavery.[18] That said, New Hampshire was a free state with no slavery to speak of from the American Revolution forward.[10] | |
| New Jersey Main article:History of slavery in New Jersey | USA | January 23, 1866 | 1804 (gradual) April 18, 1846[19] | New Jersey had some gradual manumission laws prior to 1846, resulting in a "continuum" of servitude statuses that persisted until the Civil War.[19] |
| New York Main article:History of slavery in New York (state) | USA | February 3, 1865 | 1799 (gradual) July 4, 1827 (full)[20] | |
| North Carolina Main article:History of slavery in North Carolina | CSA | December 4, 1865 | ||
| Ohio | USA | February 10, 1865 | February 19, 1803 (statehood) | |
| Oregon Main article:History of African Americans in Oregon | USA | December 11, 1865 | February 14, 1859 (statehood)[21][b] | |
| Pennsylvania Main article:History of slavery in Pennsylvania | USA | February 8, 1865 | March 1, 1780 (gradual)[22] 1847 (full) | Pennsylvania's gradual emancipation system meant that enslavement and indentured servitude continued until 1847.[22] |
| Rhode Island Main article:History of Rhode Island § Slavery in Rhode Island | USA | February 2, 1865 | 1784 (gradual) 1843 (full)[23] | Rhode Island passed gradual emancipation laws after the American Revolution.[10] |
| South Carolina Main article:History of slavery in South Carolina | CSA | November 13, 1865 | ||
| Tennessee Main article:History of slavery in Tennessee | CSA | April 7, 1865 | October 24, 1864 (Moses speech declaration by military governor of TennesseeAndrew Johnson),[24] and state constitutional amendment certified February 27, 1865[25] | |
| Texas Main article:History of slavery in Texas | CSA | February 17, 1870 | June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth declaration by U.S. Army)[26] | |
| Vermont Main article:History of slavery in Vermont | USA | March 9, 1865 | March 4, 1791 (statehood)[27] | Constitution of theVermont Republic abolished slavery effective July 2, 1777.[27] |
| Virginia Main article:History of slavery in Virginia | CSA | February 9, 1865 | ||
| West Virginia Main article:History of slavery in West Virginia | Dual government | February 3, 1865 | TheAppalachian counties of Virginia separated from the rest of the state during the Civil War. Gradual emancipation was written inWest Virginia state constitution of 1863.[28] | |
| Wisconsin | USA | February 24, 1865 | May 29, 1848 (statehood) |
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