The Mississippi government this month formally ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. The amendment was adopted by the U.S. in 1865. But, like several other states whose delegations opposed the measure at the time — New Jersey and Kentucky included — Mississippi subsequently voted to ratify the amendment. That vote happened in 1995.
But, in Mississippi a key step was never taken and the ratification was not made official.
Dr. Ranjan Batra, an associate professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, looked into the issue after watching the Steven Spielberg movie “Lincoln.” He, along with another UMC colleague, discovered that the state did not officially notify the U.S. archivist in 1995 as required.
Batra’s colleague called the Mississippi secretary of state, who at last sent the needed paperwork to the National Archives. The Federal Register wrote back on Feb. 7 to confirm that “with this action, the State of Mississippi has ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
Thanks to Kebmodee for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.
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