,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bfcc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #i1 #bjac ,mr4 
,danny ,k4 ,davis of ,illinois 7for     
himself and ,mr4 ,shimkus7 introduced   
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,financial         
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the   
,treasury to mint coins in commemoration
 of the ,sesquicentennial ,anniversary  
of the adoption of the ,thirteenth      
,amendment to the ,united ,states       
,constitution1 which officially marked  
the abolishment of slavery in the       
,united ,states4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,thirteenth   
,amendment ,commemorative ,coin ,act4   
#b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the  
following3  7#a7 ,the economic          
contributions of enslaved ,african      
,americans to the ,american economy     
between #afia and #ahfj were            
immeasurable4 ,this labor force was used
 to build the foundations upon which    
,america stands today4  7#b7 ,from the  

#afth through the #aith centuries1 most 
colonial economies in the ,americas were
 dependent on human-trafficking and the 
use of enslaved ,african labor for their
 survival4 ,this included the ,north    
,american mercantile and shipping       
sectors that were dependent on          
slave-produced cotton1 rice1 sugar and  
indigo1 and the profits derived from    
triangular trade with the ,west ,indies1
 ,africa1 and ,europe4  7#c7 ,enslaved  
,africans in the ,united ,states were   
also recognized as an important element 
in the political and economic capital in
 the nation's political economy4  7#d7  
,over the course of #bdf years1 slaves  
contributed an estimated #fje billion   
hours of forced free labor1 the gain    
from which provided seed capital for the
 ,american economy1 helped finance the  
birth of ,american finance and          
industrial sectors1 contributed to the  
growth of most of the ,fortune #ejj     
companies1 and ultimately assisted the  
nation in financing both world wars4    

7#e7 ,during the ,civil ,war1 after     
,union forces repelled a ,confederate   
invasion at the battle of ,antietam in  
#ahfb1 ,president ,abraham ,lincoln     
issued the ,emancipation ,proclamation1 
which declared that all slaves in states
 then in rebellion would be forever free
 as of ,january #a1 #ahfc4 ,by his      
action1 ,lincoln added a new and        
revolutionary dimension to the nation's 
war aims3 from being a conflict to      
preserve the ,union1 the ,civil ,war    
grew to be a crusade to end black       
slavery and fulfill the promise of the  
,declaration of ,independence4  7#f7 ,in
 the spring of #ahfd1 ,charles ,sumner  
introduced an anti-slavery amendment in 
the ,senate1 much like the amendments   
that were introduced in the ,house by   
,representatives ,james ,ashley and     
,james ,wilson in ,december of #ahfc1   
which declared all persons as equal1    
prohibited the slavery1 and granted     
,congress the power to enforce these    
provisions4 ,after extensive debate1 the

 #acth ,amendment was formed from this  
proposal1 with the omission of the      
declaration of equality of all persons1 
and passed the ,senate on ,april #h1    
#ahfd1 by a vote of #ch-f4  7#g7        
,debates between abolitionists and      
supporters of slavery focused on the    
moral issue of slavery and various      
interpretations of natural law4         
,representative ,john ,farnsworth of    
,illinois stated that the old fathers   
who made the constitution believed that 
slavery was at war with the rights of   
human nature1 and pointed out the       
contradiction between the existence of  
inalienable rights and the institution  
of slavery4 ,some members within the    
,republican ,party1 such as ,charles    
,sumner1 sought an interpretation of the
 ,constitution that rejected slavery as 
incompatible with moral law4  7#h7      
,president ,lincoln took an active role 
in promoting the #acth ,amendment in    
,congress4 ,he ensured that the         
,republican ,party's #ahfd election     

platform included a provision supporting
 a constitutional amendment to terminate
 and forever prohibit the existence of  
,slavery4 ,his efforts were met with    
success when the ,house passed the bill 
on ,january #ca1 #ahfe1 with a vote of  
#aai-ef4  7#i7 ,on ,february #a1 #ahfe1 
,illinois became the first state to     
ratify the proposed #acth ,amendment2 it
 was joined by #ag other states by the  
end of the month4 ,georgia ratified on  
,december #f1 #ahfe1 becoming the #bgth 
of #cf states to approve the ,amendment1
 thus achieving the constitutional      
requirement that it be ratified by      
three-fourths of the states4 ,secretary 
of ,state ,william ,seward declared the 
#acth ,amendment to be part of the      
,constitution on ,december #ah4  7#aj7  
,the ,smithsonian ,national ,museum of  
,african ,american ,history and ,culture
 7hereafter referred to in this section 
as the ,,nmaahc7 was established by an  
,act of ,congress in #bjjc1 in ,public  
,law #ajh-ahd4  7#aa7 ,it is fitting    

that the ,,nmaahc receive the surcharges
 from the sale of coins issued under    
this ,act because the ,museum is devoted
 to the documentation of ,african       
,american life1 and1 among other areas1 
encompasses the period of slavery and   
the era of ,reconstruction4  7#ab7 ,the 
surcharge proceeds from the sale of a   
commemorative coin1 which would have no 
net cost to the taxpayers1 would raise  
valuable funding to supplement the      
endowment and educational outreach funds
 of the ,,nmaahc4  #c4 ,coin            
specifications  7a7 ,denominations ,the 
,secretary of the ,treasury 7hereafter  
in this ,act referred to as the         
,secretary7 shall mint and issue the    
following coins in commemoration of the 
,sesquicentennial ,anniversary of the   
passage of the #acth ,amendment3  7#a7  
#ej bi-metallic platinum and gold coins 
,not more than #bej1jjj #ej coins1 which
 shall--  7,a7 have a weight1 diameter1 
and thickness determined by the         
,secretary2 and  7,b7 contain platinum  

and 4#iafg pure gold4  7#b7 #bj gold    
coins ,not more than #bej1jjj #bj coins1
 which shall--  7,a7 weigh #cc4ica      
grams2  7,b7 have a diameter of #cb4g   
millimeters2 and  7,c7 contain 4#ijj    
pure gold4  7#c7 #a silver coins ,not   
more than #ejj1jjj #a coins1 which      
shall--  7,a7 weigh #ca4ajc grams2  7,b7
 have a diameter of #dj4f millimeters2  
and  7,c7 contain 4#iii fine silver4    
7b7 ,legal tender ,the coins minted     
under this ,act shall be legal tender1  
as provided in section #eajc of title   
#ca1 ,united ,states ,code4  7c7        
,numismatic items ,for the purposes of  
sections #eacd and #eacf of title #ca1  
,united ,states ,code1 all coins minted 
under this ,act shall be considered to  
be numismatic items4  #d4 ,design of    
coins  7a7 ,in general ,the design of   
the coins minted under this ,act shall  
be emblematic of the ,thirteenth        
,amendment and the abolishment of       
slavery in ,america4  7b7 ,designation  
and inscriptions ,on each coin minted   

under this ,act there shall be--  7#a7 a
 designation of the value of the coin2  
7#b7 an inscription of the year         
#ahfe-bjae2 and  7#c7 inscriptions of   
the words ,liberty1 ,in ,god ,we ,trust1
 ,united ,states of ,america1 and ,e    
,pluribus ,unum4  7c7 ,selection ,the   
design for the coins minted under this  
,act--  7#a7 shall be based on the      
economic contributions of slavery1 and  
include images of the pathway from      
slavery to freedom2  7#b7 may include1  
on the #bj coins1 that the design       
elements be in high relief2  7#c7 may   
include1 on the #ej coins--  7,a7 on the
 obverse1 an illustration of ,columbia  
or similar figure representing ,liberty1
 the female representation of ,america2 
and  7,b7 on the reverse1 a single      
eagle1 and a set of stars on one or both
 sides2  7#d7 shall be selected by the  
,secretary after consultation with the  
,commission of ,fine ,arts2 and  7#e7   
shall be reviewed by the ,citizens      
,coinage ,advisory ,committee4  #e4     

,issuance of coins  7a7 ,quality of     
coins ,coins minted under this ,act     
shall be issued in uncirculated and     
proof qualities4  7b7 ,period of        
issuance ,the ,secretary may issue coins
 minted under this ,act only during the 
calendar year beginning ,january #a1    
#bjaf1 except that the ,secretary may   
initiate sales of such coins1 without   
issuance1 before such date4  7c7        
,minting in #bjaf ,notwithstanding      
section #eaab7;d77#a7 of title #ca1     
,united ,states ,code1 the ,secretary   
may continue to mint the coins under    
this ,act in the year #bjaf4  #f4 ,sale 
of coins  7a7 ,sales price ,the coins   
issued under this ,act shall be sold by 
the ,secretary at a price equal to the  
sum of--  7#a7 the face value of the    
coins2  7#b7 the surcharge required     
under section #g7;a7 with respect to    
such coins2 and  7#c7 the cost of       
designing and issuing such coins        
7including labor1 materials1 dies1 use  
of machinery1 overhead expenses1        

marketing1 and shipping74  7b7 ,bulk    
sales ,the ,secretary shall make bulk   
sales of the coins issued under this    
,act at a reasonable discount4  7c7     
,prepaid orders at a discount  7#a7 ,in 
general ,the ,secretary shall accept    
prepaid orders for the coins minted     
under this ,act before the issuance of  
such coins4  7#b7 ,discount ,sales      
prices with respect to prepaid orders   
under paragraph 7#a7 shall be at a      
reasonable discount4  #g4 ,surcharges   
7a7 ,surcharge required ,all sales of   
coins under this ,act shall include a   
surcharge of #aj per coin4  7b7         
,distribution ,subject to section       
#eacd7;f7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states 
,code1 all surcharges received by the   
,secretary from the sale of coins issued
 under this ,act shall be promptly paid 
by the ,secretary to the ,smithsonian   
,national ,museum of ,african ,american 
,history and ,culture to carry out the  
purposes of the museum1 which goes      
beyond simply telling the history of    

,african ,americans1 creating an        
opportunity for anyone who cares about  
,african ,american ,culture a place to  
explore1 learn1 and revel in the rich   
history of ,african ,american ,culture4 
7c7 ,audits ,the ,smithsonian ,national 
,museum of ,african ,american ,history  
and ,culture shall be subject to the    
audit requirements of section           
#eacd7;f77#b7 of title #ca1 ,united     
,states ,code1 with regard to the       
amounts received under subsection 7b74  
7d7 ,limitation ,notwithstanding        
subsection 7a71 no surcharge may be     
included with respect to the issuance   
under this ,act of any coin during a    
calendar year if1 as of the time of such
 issuance1 the issuance of such coin    
would result in the number of           
commemorative coin programs issued      
during such year to exceed the annual #b
 commemorative coin program issuance    
limitation under section #eaab7m77#a7 of
 title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,the 
,secretary of the ,treasury may issue   

guidance to carry out this subsection4  
#h4 ,financial assurances ,the          
,secretary shall take such actions as   
may be necessary to ensure that--  7#a7 
minting and issuing coins under this    
,act will not result in any net cost to 
the ,united ,states ,government2 and    
7#b7 no funds1 including applicable     
surcharges1 are disbursed to any        
recipient designated in section #g until
 the total cost of designing and issuing
 all of the coins authorized by this    
,act is recovered by the ,united ,states
 ,treasury1 consistent with sections    
#eaab7m7 and #eacd7;f7 of title #ca1    
,united ,states ,code4