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Mississippi officially ratifies amendment abolishing slavery — finally

2/18/13

It's already embarrassing that Mississippi didn't ratify the 13th Amendment (the one that, you know, abolishes slavery) until 1995. It's even more embarrassing that the Magnolia State didn't officially ratify the amendment until now, almost 150 years after Congress voted for it. Back in '95 the state never properly notified the U.S. Archivist about the ratification, so it was never official. This apparent clerical blunder wasn't spotted until Dr. Ranjan Batra, an associate professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, saw "Lincoln" and wondered what happened when the states voted on ratification. The right paperwork was filed and on February 7, 2013 Mississippi officially ratified the 13th Amendment. "It was long overdue," admitted Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.