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The Constitution.

Read the words. See the structure. Understand what connects them.

Preamble · Seven Articles
Twenty-seven Amendments

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Constitutional text

Amendment XIII · Section 2

1 selectable clause · PDF page 14

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Notes supplied with the source text

Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865. (Note: A portion of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution was changed by the 13th Amendment.)

Source: the uploaded National Constitution Center edition. Historical wording and its bracket markers remain visible; later amendments and the reading notes explain changes.

Clause notes