The Thirteenth Amendment, Interest Convergence, and the Badges and Incidents of Slavery

William M. Carter Jr.

The Thirteenth Amendment was intended to eliminate the institution and legacy of slavery. Having accomplished the former, the Amendment has rarely been extended to the latter. The Thirteenth Amendment’s full scope therefore remains unrealized.

This Article explores the gap between the Thirteenth Amendment’s promise and its implementation. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, this Article argues that the relative underdevelopment of Thirteenth Amendment doctrine is due in part to a lack of perceived interest convergence in eliminating what the Amendment’s framers called the “badges and incidents of slavery.” The theory of interest convergence, in its strongest form, suggests that civil rights gains seldom happen unless they are perceived as advancing, or at least not hindering, the material interests of dominant groups.