In some jurisdictions, slaves were automatically freed upon the death of their master. This was the case in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as in some parts of the Islamic world. In other jurisdictions, however, slaves remained the property of the master's estate and could be sold or inherited by the master's heirs. This was the case in most of the Americas, where slavery was legal until the 19th century.
In the United States, for example, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 freed slaves in the Confederate states, but not in the border states or the District of Columbia. It was not until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1865 that slavery was abolished throughout the United States.