A political cartoon that represents the issue America had of what to do with slaves after the Civil War, entitled "The Man Who The Elephant at the Raffle" ; the caption reads (man on the elephant): But the question is, what am I to do with the creature?
The Thirteenth Amendment was founded on the degradation of people. Slavery can be defined as the exploitation of people and their labor. Since the beginnings of America, slaves were seen as property, not people. Slave trade was a demanding and profitable business, but families were ruined because of it. The U.S. government figured that banning the act of slavery would be much easier than to assimilate former slaves into society. The Free Soil Party made important contributions to the anti-slavery movement. Free Soilers argued that stopping slavery would allow freedoms for all workers. They blamed the lack of education among people and the exploitation of people on slavery. Representative John Bingham said “no man shall be wrongfully deprived of the fruit of his toil any more than of his life”. Another influential person to the anti-slavery movement after the war was Congressman James Ashley. He was one of the few people who wanted to ban slavery and actively helped pass laws that would protect slaves' rights. He believed that ending slavery would improve life for all; he looked at the people who had the lowest social status, and tried to help them better their lives.