Better 148 years late then never, the state of Mississippi has finally ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, thanks in part to the work of an immigrant doctor inspired by the movie Lincoln.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, Dr. Ranjan Batra sat down to do some post-Lincoln Internet research, only to discover that Mississippi never officially ratified the 13th Amendment because of a clerical oversight.
In fact, both chambers of the Mississippi legislature had voted in favor of ratification in 1995, but the Secretary of State never filed the paperwork with the federal government, until Dr. Batra and another civic-minded citizen pointed out the error earlier this month…
On Feb. 7, Charles A. Barth, director of the Federal Register, wrote back that he had received the resolution: "With this action, the State of Mississippi has ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."
Watch out, America! Mississippi has stepped boldly into the 1870s and there's almost nothing it can't do now, unless that thing involves timely execution of basic government functions.
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Tags: Constitution, Mississippi, Movies, Slavery