Mississippi slavery ban passes Legislature
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonald (L) and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant leave the White House after a meeting of the National Governors Association with President Barack Obama on Feb. 27, 2012 in Washington, DC.
It took 148 years, but Mississippi has finally ratified a state amendment banning slavery.
The state Legislature first ratifed the 13th Amendment in 1995, the Clarion-Ledger reported.
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But the state never sent the ratification to the U.S. Archivist, so it was never formally recorded — and therefore not officially recognized — until just recently.
Turns out, the state has Steven Spielberg's movie "Lincoln" to thank.
Several Mississippians brought the clerical error to light after watching the movie, which depicts the political fight to pass the 13th Amendment, The Associated Press reported.
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They contacted Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who sent a copy of the 1995 resolution to the Office of the Federal Register.
On Feb. 7, the Federal Register made the ratification official, according to CBS News.
"What an amendment to have an error in filing," Dick Molpus, who served as secretary of state in 1995, told the Clarion-Ledger.
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