of slave labor were also essential to the construction of the Smithsonian Institution, Wall Street, Harvard University, Georgetown University, and Fort Sumter. (11) It has been estimated that the total economic value of slave labor is between $5.9 trillion and $14.2 trillion in 2009 dollars. (12) The United States became increasingly divided between slaveholding and non-slaveholding States and territories, including as to whether slavery should be expanded to new States and territories or abolished altogether. (13) The secession of States from the United States began on December 20, 1860, and led to the formation of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. (14) The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, with the attack on Fort Sumter by Confederate forces. (15) On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all persons held as slaves in Confederate States henceforward shall be free . (16) After four years of grueling battle and conflict, the Civil War concluded with the surrender of the commander of the Confederate forces on April 9, 1865, although fighting continued until November 6, 1865, and the Civil War was proclaimed to be over by President Andrew Johnson on August 20, 1866. (17) The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery passed the Congress on January 31, 1865, and was ratified by the required number of States on December 6, 1865. (18) The text of the 13th Amendment states that, Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. . (19) The use of slave labor over hundreds of years resulted in immense suffering and deprivation among the people who fell victim to these abhorrent practices. (20) At the same time, the extensive, long-term use of unpaid labor advantaged the United States economy immeasurably. 3. Congressional gold medal (a) Award authorized