On March 18, 1976, while America was preparing to celebrate its bicentennial, a small but monumental event took place in the Kentucky statehouse. The General Assembly finally ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which had abolished slavery nationwide more than a century earlier in 1865.
While the vote was largely symbolic—slavery had been illegal in Kentucky since the amendment reached its national three-fourths threshold in 1865—the 111-year delay tells a profound story about the "neutral" state’s complicated relationship with freedom.
Why the Delay? A "Border State" Crisis
To understand why Kentucky waited until the disco era to say "no" to slavery, we have to look back at 1865. Unlike the Confederate states, Kentucky never seceded from the Union. Because of this, President Abraham Lincoln’s
When the 13th Amendment was proposed, Kentucky’s leadership was deeply resistant. In February 1865, the General Assembly formally rejected the amendment. Lawmakers feared that federal interference with slavery would destroy their economy and infringe on "states' rights."
Governor Thomas Bramlette expressed the state's stubbornness at the time, noting that while he personally believed "slavery is irrevocably doomed," the legislature's action to reject the amendment was
The 111-Year "Forgotten" Vote
For decades following the Civil War, the rejection remained on the books. As the 20th century progressed, the issue simply wasn't prioritized. It wasn't until the 1970s, fueled by the momentum of the Civil Rights Movement, that lawmakers sought to "erase the shadow" of this historic refusal.
The push for ratification was led by Mae Street Kidd, a pioneering African American legislator. She sponsored the resolution to ratify not just the 13th, but also the 14th (equal protection) and 15th (voting rights) Amendments, all of which Kentucky had previously rejected or ignored.
"We have officially gone on record as being against slavery." > — General Assembly report, 1976
(State-Journal)
What It Means for Us Today
Kentucky’s late ratification is more than a historical trivia point; it is a reminder that legal progress is rarely a straight line.
Symbols Matter: Even though the 13th Amendment was federal law, Kentucky’s refusal to ratify it for over a century sent a message about who was truly considered a "citizen" in the eyes of the state. Correcting that record in 1976 was a necessary act of reconciliation.
The Persistence of Injustice: As the
Kentucky Historical Society The Power of Local Advocacy: The work of Mae Street Kidd shows that it often takes individual courage to force a government to look at its own past and make it right.
Today, Kentucky joins the rest of the nation in recognizing the 13th Amendment, but the 111-year gap remains a sober reminder of the work required to turn the wheels of justice.
Sources & Further Reading:
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On this day in 1865, the Kentucky General Assembly refused to endorse an end to slavery in America. Kentucky did not officially ratify the Thirteenth Amendment until 1976. https://t.co/wmQwTucdmd
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) February 24, 2026
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