Congressional Authority to Interpret the Thirteenth Amendment: A Response to Professor Tsesis

Posted: 30 May 2013 Last revised: 2 Oct 2017

Date Written: May 29, 2013

Abstract

This essay explores the proper scope of Congress’s power to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition on slavery and involuntary servitude. It reviews the historical context surrounding the drafting of the Thirteenth Amendment enforcement power, and it points to structural constitutional considerations relevant to the understanding of that power. It concludes by suggesting some related topics that deserve further exploration.

Keywords: congressional authority, Tsesis, thirteenth amendment, section 2 power, Civil Rights Act of 1866, Relevance of the Fourteenth Amendment

JEL Classification: K39

Suggested Citation

McAward, Jennifer Mason, Congressional Authority to Interpret the Thirteenth Amendment: A Response to Professor Tsesis (May 29, 2013). Maryland Law Review, Vol. 71, No. 1, 2012, Notre Dame Legal Studies Paper No. 1328, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2271791

Jennifer Mason McAward (Contact Author)

Notre Dame Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 780
Notre Dame, IN 46556-0780
United States

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