"Pete" was one of many slaves considered property of the Jarrot family in Cahokia Heights. He sued for his freedom, and the lawsuit closed Illinois' slavery loophole. Pete's lawyer, Lyman Trumbull, went on to shape the 13th Amendment.
There can be long periods where it feels impossible to amend the Constitution. But then conditions change and in a very short period of time there can be three, four or five amendments. The heart of the story is progressive change.
Given the political realities and economic imperatives at play, free prison labor will persist in America for the foreseeable future, leaving in serious doubt the idea of American freedom – and abundant evidence of modern-day convict slavery.
The framers of the 13th Amendment did not intend to establish an empire of prison labor.
Charting the ironies of freedom won and lost during and after the Civil War, Eric Foner, the American historian, has also helped us better understand the ambiguous consequences of what were almost always only partial victories.
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