Which amendment is famous for abolishing slavery in the United States?

• A. The Fourth Amendment
• B. The Ninth Amendment
• C. The Eighteenth Amendment
• D. The Thirteenth Amendment

Answer: (D)

Slavery being ended nationwide is established by the Thirteenth Amendment. It explicitly bans slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, with only a single exception for punishment of a crime after legal conviction. Ratified in 1865, this amendment provides the constitutional guarantee that slavery cannot exist anywhere in the country. For context, the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in Confederate-held areas during the Civil War, but the Thirteenth Amendment made abolition a constitutional, nationwide reality. The other amendments mentioned cover different issues: the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; the Ninth safeguards rights not listed in the Constitution; and the Eighteenth established Prohibition on alcohol (which was later repealed by another amendment).