is slavery legal in america?
By Clint Richardson
W hile one might be shocked at the presenta-
tion of such a question about such a historically
controversial subject, one might also not be worse
off to simply read their Constitution of the United
States…
Let’s have a look at the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States:
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.
So, let’s break this down and comprehend what this
really means:
The phrase “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted…” simply
translates to –
“Slavery and involuntary servitude are illegal unless
the court system (the state) makes it legal by conviction (court order).
In other words…
“The state has the authority to enslave you simply
by convicting you of a crime and sending you to
private prison or requiring community service
through state approved agencies.”
Now we must understand that slavery in the United
States was not legal or illegal until individual states
made it so. Instead, it was just an accepted practice
of common law brought over to the United States
by the English settlers who were already accustomed to owning slaves. While southern states
continued with their tolerance of the ownership of
people (of any race or color) either through slavery
or by indentured servitude (involuntary servitude),
one by one the Northern states individually outlawed the practice, though this was not necessarily
done by altruistic means as much as political ones.
It is very important to understand the concept of
freedom in this case. The colonists that inhabited
the states as individual citizens had the freedom
(the right) to own slaves and to indenture others for
payment of debt. This was a right.
It is also very important to understand that this
right, as with all rights, was taken away from the
individual people both when individual states
outlawed the practice and when the Thirteenth
Amendment was amended to the Constitution.
Thus, the right to own slaves was turned into a
privilege, and immediately revoked.
Remember, a right is God-given. It is not something that can be legislated. It is freedom without
oppression. Breathing is a right.
Also remember that a privilege is not a right. A
privilege is not a freedom. A privilege is a state
sanctioned action, only allowable by state decree
or with permission through license or legal statute.
Driving is a privilege, revocable at any time by the
state.
TheSovereignVoice.Org