Mississippi Finally Makes It Official-- Slavery Is Now Illegal In The Virtute Et Armis State

Mississippi is also known as the Magnolia State and the Hospitality State... but Virtute et Armis is more befitting in the context of a state that took until this week to finally ratify the 13th Amendment a century and a half late. That was the one that abolished slavery. At least Mississippi is, by some way of thinking, ahead of Mali, Niger and Mauratania!

After Congress voted for the 13th Amendment in January 1864, the measure went to the states for ratification.

On Dec. 6, 1865, the amendment received the three-fourths' vote it needed when Georgia became the 27th state to ratify it. States that rejected the measure included Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey and Mississippi.

In the months and years that followed, states continued to ratify the amendment, including those that had initially rejected it. New Jersey ratified the amendment in 1866, Delaware in 1901 and Kentucky in 1976.

But there was an asterisk beside Mississippi. A note read: “Mississippi ratified the amendment in 1995, but because the state never officially notified the US Archivist, the ratification is not official.”

...The resolution passed both the Mississippi Senate and House.

“It was unanimous,” [state Sen. Hillman] Frazier recalled. “Some didn’t vote, but we didn’t receive a ‘nay’ vote.”

The last paragraph of the resolution called on the secretary of state to send a copy to the Office of the Federal Register.

Why the copy was never sent in 1995 remains unknown.

Someone in Mississippi was inspired and movie when he, a private citizen, saw Lincoln which moved him to complain to the Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who agreed to file the paperwork and make it official. He did and, as of last week, it's now official. Only 44% of Mississippi voters cast their ballots for President Obama in November. Around 32 million American adults can't read (14%). Mississippi ranks dead last among the states in adult literacy; they are also the most religious state. Mississippi, which has the highest food stamp dependency in America (20.8%), is also the most obese state (34%). It is one of only 5 states-- all from the Old Confederacy-- with no minimum wage. Mississippi is last in almost everything good and first in almost everything bad. Texans laugh that Mississippi is the state that keeps in out of last place. And, now, last to give up on slavery. Watch the video up top; it goes a long way towards explaining all of this.

On the other hand, Mississippi and other teabag states have a different interpretation of what slavery is than... well, what slavery is. Watch this brief right-wing discussion and be sure to wait and listen to the well-dressed crackpot at the very end: