Better late than never

Film 'Lincoln' inspires effort to correct Mississippi's failure to officially ratify the 13th Amendment

After Congress voted for the 13th Amendment in January 1864, the measure went to the states for ratification.

On Dec. 6, 1864, the amendment received the two-thirds’ vote it needed when Georgia became the 27th state to ratify it. States that rejected the measure included Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey and Mississippi.

In the months and years that followed, states continued to ratify the amendment, including those that had initially rejected it. New Jersey ratified the amendment in 1866, Delaware in 1901 and Kentucky in 1976.

But there was an asterisk beside Mississippi. A note read: “Mississippi ratified the amendment in 1995, but because the state never officially notified the US Archivist, the ratification is not official.”


read what happened: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130217/NEWS01/302170050/Historic-oversight-corrected-Film-Lincoln-inspires-look-into-slavery-vote