happy? – Dec 18 (13th Amendment)

Subject: RE: happy? – Dec 18 (13th Amendment)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Dec 05 - 02:11 PM

Two versions of "Slav'ry Chain" posted in thread 39232: Slavery Chain
The song seemingly originated at the Hampton Institute and first appeared in Nathaniel R. Dett, 1927, "Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro."

Subject: happy? – Dec 18 (13th Amendment)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 18 Dec 05 - 09:34 AM

12/18/1865: The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect, forever abolishing chatel slavery throughout the United States and its territories.

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which had gone into effect January 1, 1863, was an emergency wartime measure which only applied to those areas in rebellion aginst the United States. It did not affect the slave states which had remained in the Union (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri) or those parts of the Confederacy that had already been occupied by Union forces and were thus no longer in rebellion (New Orleans and its environs, parts of northern Virginia, and a few other places). It also did not affect the so-called loyal counties of western Virginia, which were admitted to the Union as the State of West Virginia later that year. Nor did it affect the territories which were not yet states, as the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision of 1857 had declared all such areas to be open to slavery. New Mexico Territory, Utah Territory, and Indian Territory, all had slavery in reality as well as in theory. There may even have been a few slaves held in Colorado Territory and elsewhere. The 13th Amendment closed all those loop-holes.

          Slavery chain done broke at last,
          Broke at last, broke at last!
          Slavery chain done broke at last,
          Gonna praise God 'til I die!
  
  "Slavery Chain Done Broke At Last," Words: Anonymous,  Tune: "Joshua Fit the Battle of 
  Jericho."  See Irwin Silber's Songs of the Civil War [thanx Stephen Suffet]

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What are Happy's all about? See Clicky