Dear Reader,

It’s Thursday, December 18, 2025. I am Dom Einhorn, your lead curator, and here are your insights into what makes this day in history relevant today. First time reading? Join our community of intellectually curious readers who explore the history behind every day. [Sign up here]

Spread the word: Share this email with friends (copy URL here).

BROUGHT TO YOU BY…

Throughout history, trivia has always been more than a game.

In ancient Greece, scholars tested each other’s wit in symposiums. In 12th-century Baghdad, thinkers debated questions in bustling libraries. Even in medieval Europe, monarchs used riddles and logic games to assess the sharpness of their advisors.

Today, a new chapter in that centuries-old tradition is being written, one that blends human curiosity with cutting-edge Web3 technology.

We’re proud to announce the launch of the MOT Token on GeckoTerminal, the official utility token of the Masters of Trivia platform. Built on the Solana blockchain and backed by a thriving global community of over 200,000 players, MOT is the first step in transforming trivia into an economic, educational, and social engine for the 21st century.

👉 The Token is now live on DEX (decentralized exchanges): secure them tokens early: See MOT Token »

Abolition, Codified

👉 Marquee Event

By formal proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment enters into force, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude (except as punishment for crime) across the United States.

📌 Why This Matters

It moved abolition from wartime policy to constitutional principle, setting the legal foundation for Reconstruction and later civil rights movements. It also left a clause that would shape carceral labor and policy for generations.

Before the Amendment

• 1830s–1860s: Enslaved resistance, abolitionist organizing, and political compromise failures.

• 1861–65: Civil War; enslaved people self-emancipate; Emancipation Proclamation (1863) undermines slavery in rebel states but doesn’t end it nationally.

• Jan 31, 1865: Congress passes the 13th; Dec 6: state ratification threshold met; Dec 18: certification.
  

Aftermath & Countermoves

• Black Codes restrict movement, labor, and rights.

• Convict leasing & prison labor arise via the amendment’s exception clause.

• Reconstruction (1865–77): 14th (citizenship/equal protection) and 15th (voting rights for Black men) Amendments; Enforcement Acts; first Black officeholders.

• Jim Crow era: disenfranchisement, segregation, racial terror.

🎯 How Much Do You Know About Slavery?

• Civil Rights Act (1964) & Voting Rights Act (1965) attack Jim Crow.

• Ongoing debates: voting access, criminal-legal reform, prison labor, reparative justice, and how to teach this history. The 13th is both a triumph and a text we still live inside.

👉 Play our Slavery quiz now.

Powered by MOT. “Education, Tokenized.” Now available on Raydium.

Quote of the Day

Why KRONIKL? Inspired by the timeless concept of chronicles, KRONIKL is dedicated to bringing you the most intriguing, thought-provoking stories from this date. Culture, science, politics, and more — all condensed for a quick, insightful read that connects your present with our past.

*Disclosure: Masters of Trivia is a quiz platform founded by Dom Einhorn and owned by Intelligent Games LLC—the same company that brings you the KRONIKL newsletter.