Mississippi Votes To Abolish Slavery

After 130 years, Mississippi finally voted Thursday to ratify the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.

Without debate, the state House unanimously approved a resolution that previously had won unanimous passage in the Senate.

“It clarifies where Mississippi is and where Mississippi potentially is going,” said Democratic state Rep. Charles Shepphard.

Of the 36 states in the union when the 13th Amendment was ratified in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, Mississippi was the only holdout.

At the time, state lawmakers were angry they had not been reimbursed for the value of freed slaves.

Mississippi will notify Congress of the action, and it will be noted in congressional records.