Do we truly live in a Democracy? Democracy refers to a belief in individual liberty and equality, as well as a political structure founded on that belief. Is it true that we, the people, are free and equal? Discussion: The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution contains a constitutional loophole that allows the practice of slavery to proceed in a legal manner, with corporations, the federal government, and state governments serving as official slaveholders rather than private individuals. The US economy had a significant agricultural base funded by free slave labor prior to the passage of this legislation. The US economy had a significant agricultural base funded by free slave labor prior to the passage of this legislation. Slavery and the enforcement of legislation that punished newly “freed” Black people were also evidently racially motivated (namely the Black Codes). These rules, both old and modern, contribute to the disproportionate incarceration of African-Americans.