Legal developments since United States v. Amistad

The most significant legal development since the first Amistad case is, of course, the abolition of slavery. With the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, the U.S. Constitution guaranteed that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Since the Thirteenth Amendment, Congress has abolished peonage (42 U.S.C. § 1894), , kidnapping persons into slavery (18 U.S.C. § 1583), selling of persons into slavery (18 U.S.C. § 1584), service on slave ships (18 U.S.C. § 1586), and transportation of or trafficking in slaves (18 U.S.C. § 1585).

Prepared by Michael Peil for the Legal Information Institute. Last revised on 24 December 1997 at 10:00.