[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 157 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING ANNIVERSARY OF THE RATIFICATION OF THE 13TH AMENDMENT

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                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 7, 2005

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to express 
my support for H.R. 196 that recognize the 140th anniversary of the 
thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.
  I applaud my colleague from Oakland, California, for her hard work on 
this resolution because of the efforts that have been made to ensure 
that the Thirteenth Amendment is respected in practice. There were many 
examples of seemingly deliberate attempts to bypass the 13th Amendment 
regarding slavery. For example, in Texas in 1867, African-Americans 
constituted about one third of the convicts in state penitentiaries. 
However, about 90 percent of those inmates were leased out for cheap 
railroad labor.
  Apprenticeship laws also were embraced with increasing vigor 
throughout the South. In some States, such as Maryland and North 
Carolina, courts ordered African American children to be bound for 
labor to white ``employers'' without the permission or knowledge of the 
children's parents. Records compiled by the Freedmen's Bureau in those 
States indicate a virtual deluge of requests for assistance in 
obtaining the freedom of children enslaved through ``lawful'' State-
court action. Of course, the State-court actions in these cases were 
inconsistent with Federal law, and the resulting involuntary servitude 
of these children was a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. As 
founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I assert 
that it is critical for the future of our children that we preserve the 
spirit of this Constitutional Amendment, for history has shown that 
children have been vulnerable in the past.
  As members of Congress, we must ensure that this milestone in 
American history is recognized and celebrated. I am pleased to stand 
with my colleagues by being an original co-sponsor of this legislation.

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