Notice the plural title?  Most people have been taught about the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution prohibiting slavery.  What is generally not known is that there were three amendments, characterized here as 13th Amendment (13a), 13th Amendment (13b) and 13th Amendment (13c). 13th Amendment (13a) was the last addition to our Constitution prior to the Civil War, and the last element of our Organic Constitution. That it is missing from our current Constitution is of significant import.

The story of the thirteenth amendment is a good illustration of how wars are used for the transfer of power.  The War of 1812 was used to hide the original 13th Amendment and the Civil War used to replace it.  But the original 13th Amendment 13a was never lawfully removed and so is today part of the Organic Constitution and is the law of the land.

The N12 presentation provides the basic story.  The Original 13th Amendment resource is quite comprehensive.