Final answer:
The best interpretation of the statement is that the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a duly convicted crime, signifying the end of legal slavery in the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement provided is a direct quotation from Section 1 of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The best interpretation of this statement is that it declares the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, with the sole exception being for individuals who have been duly convicted of a crime. This exception allows for penal labor as a legal form of punishment. Through this amendment, which was passed by Congress in early 1865 and subsequently ratified by the states in December 1865, millions of individuals were freed from the institution of slavery that had existed in North America for centuries.
Further reinforcing this change, Section 2 of the amendment empowers Congress to enact legislation to enforce the provisions of the Thirteenth Amendment. This legal transformation marked the beginning of a new era of human rights and civil liberties in the United States, following the Union's victory in the Civil War.