Leveled Readings / 13th Amendment
13th Amendment
13th Amendment (1865)
These are adaptations, not the original. The original wording is always shown first. Each adapted version restates the same passage at about a grade 4, grade 7, or grade 10 reading level without adding or removing ideas. Quote the original in student writing.
Original wording
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…”
Adapted · about grade 4
Slavery is not allowed in the United States. Forced work is only allowed as a punishment for a crime after a fair trial.
Adapted · about grade 7
Slavery and forced labor are banned in the United States, except as a punishment for someone found guilty of a crime.
Adapted · about grade 10
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude may exist in the United States, except as punishment for a crime of which a person has been lawfully convicted.
Used in: Who freed the enslaved people?