Unfortunately it's not that simple. We can't even agree on if slavery ended in this country. The Thirteenth Amendment if you read it carefully puts in an exception which indicates not only has it not ended but it has been expanded.

These are the words:

>Section 1. 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, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

If anyone could just read the constitution and know exactly what it says then common sense would indicate that all prisoners are slaves to the government. Of course we know the government isn't going to admit that and instead people will  use more ambiguous terms like "state property". 

Do convicted criminals maintain citizenship status? Some cannot vote and cannot buy a gun even after they've served their time. If the constitution were so clear then these debates would not be happening.

Originally race was the justification for slavery. Now if you ask some of the best lawyers they cannot tell whether or not slavery has ended. Should we take the words from the constitution and assume we know the meaning as well as the experts in which case the US government looks evil or should we assume the experts know what those words really mean?


1. http://www.newsweek.com/slavery-still-legal-united-states-365547
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
3. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/08/14/slavery-legal-exception-prisoners-drugs-reform-column/14086227/