Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution is a document that has been criticised for its treatment of Black people, women, and Jews. Notably, no Black man signed the Constitution, as they were considered slaves at the time. While there have been claims that Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers, was Black or at least of mixed race, there is no primary source or DNA evidence to support this. Similarly, there are claims that John Hanson, the President of the Constitutional Congress, was African, but these have been refuted by historians. The original Constitution lacked the Thirteenth Amendment, which allowed slavery to continue, and did not include the First Amendment, which protects religious freedom, or the Nineteenth Amendment, which secures women's right to vote.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Were any Black men involved in writing the US Constitution? | No, Black people were considered slaves at the time. |
| Were any Black men among the signatories of the US Constitution? | No. All the known signatories were white males. |
| Were any Black men involved in the US government during the time of the US Constitution? | There is no evidence of this. However, there are claims that John Hanson, President of the Constitutional Congress, was of African descent. |
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What You'll Learn
- There is no evidence that a Black man signed the US Constitution
- Blacks were not mentioned in the Constitution
- Blacks were considered slaves at the time
- There were claims that Alexander Hamilton was Black or mixed race
- There were claims that John Hanson, President of the Constitutional Congress, was Black
There is no evidence that a Black man signed the US Constitution
Some people have claimed that Alexander Hamilton, the founding father, may have been Black or at least of mixed race. However, there is no primary source or DNA evidence to support this claim. Similarly, there have been speculations about John Hanson, the President of the Constitutional Congress, being African. These claims have been refuted by historians, who assert that John Hanson was Swedish. While it is possible that he had distant African ancestors, there is no concrete evidence to support the notion that he was Black.
The original Constitution did not explicitly mention slavery, slaveholding, or slaves. This omission has been interpreted as a deliberate attempt to avoid odious expressions and has been used to argue that the Constitution was not pro-slavery. However, the absence of explicit protections and rights for Black people, women, and Jews in the original document is a matter of concern for some citizens.
The Constitution's use of masculine pronouns for the President, Vice President, and members of Congress has sparked debates about whether these offices are exclusively intended for men. However, others argue that the pronouns could be genderless, leaving open the possibility for women to hold these positions.
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Blacks were not mentioned in the Constitution
It is a fact that no Black man signed the US Constitution. At the time, Black people were considered slaves and were not allowed to sign. The last person to sign the Constitution was Abraham Baldwin, and the first was George Washington.
The issue of what to do about Black slavery was a major concern during the Constitutional Convention. It was discussed at length in the debates, with direct references to both slavery and race. However, when it came to the writing, neither term was mentioned. No words indicating race or colour, black or white, appear in the text of the Constitution, nor do the words "slave" or "slavery". Instead, circumlocutions such as "person held to service or labour" and "such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit" are used to avoid the use of the word "slave".
The original Constitution, written in 1787, did not include any mention of colour, race, or slavery, and nowhere in it are slaves referred to by their condition. Northern delegates did not want Black slaves included, as they wanted to weaken the slaveholding power in Congress. On the other hand, Southern delegates wanted every slave to count "equally with the Whites" to increase pro-slavery voting power in Congress. The three-fifths clause, which states that "all men are created equal," is often cited as evidence of racism in the Constitution. However, this clause is irrelevant to the question of what the Founders thought of the slaves as human beings.
The word "slavery" was first added to the Constitution after the Civil War in the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibited slavery in the United States. The Fifteenth Amendment introduced the words "race" and "colour" to secure the right of all citizens to vote. The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people and granted citizenship to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States".
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Blacks were considered slaves at the time
The US Constitution was signed by delegates from 12 of the 13 states, and there is no evidence that any of the signatories were Black. At the time, Black people were considered slaves and were not allowed to sign the Constitution. While there have been claims that Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers, may have been Black or of mixed race, there is no primary source or DNA evidence to support this.
The Constitution itself did not explicitly mention slavery, slaveholding, or slaves. However, it is important to note that the absence of these terms does not mean that the Constitution was not pro-slavery. In fact, the original Constitution permitted slavery to continue and did not include protections for religious freedom or the right of women to vote. The lack of these provisions has been a source of criticism for the Constitution, as it contributed to the systemic racism, discrimination, and persecution of Black people in the United States.
The argument that the Constitution was not pro-slavery is supported by the fact that it did not use the word "slave." This was intentional, as the authors of the Constitution "anxiously sought to avoid the admission of expressions which might be odious in the ears of Americans." Despite this, the strong and widespread racism among Americans at the time helped sustain the vicious system of Black slavery and its aftermath of racial segregation, discrimination, and persecution.
It is worth noting that the term "freeman" in the context of the 17th century New Sweden colony did not indicate a freed black slave. Instead, it referred to individuals who had settled in the colony of their own will and could leave at their option. These "freemen" were granted land and were temporarily exempt from taxes. The distinction between "freemen" and forced criminals from Sweden further clarifies that the term was not indicative of freed black slaves.
In summary, while there is no evidence that a Black man signed the US Constitution, the absence of explicit pro-slavery language does not negate the fact that the original Constitution permitted slavery and contributed to the systemic racism and discrimination faced by Black individuals in the United States.
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There were claims that Alexander Hamilton was Black or mixed race
There is no primary source or DNA evidence to suggest that Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States, was Black or mixed race. However, there have been claims and speculation about his racial identity. Hamilton's mother, Rachel Faucette, was of half-British and half-Huguenot descent, and there are persistent assertions that she was of mixed race. This idea is not supported by any verifiable evidence, and the surviving evidence indicates that the signatories of the Constitution were all white males.
Alexander Hamilton was born in 1755 or 1757 in Charlestown, the capital of Nevis in the British Leeward Islands. He spent his childhood there before moving with his family to Saint Croix, where his mother supported them by managing a small store. Hamilton's mother died of yellow fever in 1768, leaving him orphaned. His mother's background and Hamilton's own efforts to obscure his early life have led to speculation about his racial identity.
Some historians and activists have sought to uncover Black ancestry in the family histories of prominent figures as a way to reclaim history for non-white Americans. In the case of Alexander Hamilton, this reclamation can be seen as valid, given that he was born in the Caribbean, where there was a significant Black and mixed-race population, and that he may have had a mixed-race mother. However, it is important to base such claims on solid evidence, which is currently lacking in Hamilton's case.
The speculation about Hamilton's race stems partly from a desire to include prominent figures in Black history and reclaim hidden histories. While this motive is understandable, it is essential to base such claims on rigorous research and verifiable evidence. In the absence of conclusive evidence, it is most accurate to state that the available evidence indicates that the signatories of the Constitution, including Hamilton, were all white males.
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There were claims that John Hanson, President of the Constitutional Congress, was Black
There is no evidence that a Black man signed the US Constitution. At the time, Black people were considered slaves. However, there have been claims that John Hanson, the President of the Constitutional Congress, was Black.
John Hanson was the President of the Continental Congress from 1780-1782, and he signed the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The Articles of Confederation served as a precursor to the US Constitution, which was first drafted in 1787 and replaced the Articles of Confederation in 1789.
Some have argued that Hanson was the first President of the United States. A story from Liberty Writers Africa claims that the first US President was a Black man named John Hanson. They cite photos of a purported African American on the back of the $2 bill as evidence. However, government documents show that there were two John Hansons—one white, one Black. The former was the first President of the Continental Congress, while the latter was a senator in Liberia. Neither was the first modern President of the US.
The white John Hanson was a member of the Continental Congress from 1780-1782 and signed the Articles of Confederation. He was also the first President to serve a one-year term under the Articles. The other John Hanson, a Black man, was associated with the American Colonization Society and was a former slave who migrated to Liberia in the mid-1800s.
Some people believe that there is a cover-up about John Hanson's race and that he was, in fact, Black. They argue that because Hanson's signature is not on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, and because there is an engraving of a Black man on the back of the two-dollar bill, there must be a conspiracy to keep his African American identity a secret. However, Hanson was not a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1776, and he died before the Constitution was created. Additionally, the man pictured on the back of the $2 bill has been identified as Robert Morris, a Founding Father and wealthy financier known as the "financier of the American Revolution."
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Frequently asked questions
No, black people were considered slaves at the time and did not write the US Constitution.
No, Barack Obama was the first black president of the United States. There were claims that John Hanson, the President of the Constitutional Congress, was black, but historians have since debunked this theory.
No, black people were not mentioned in the US Constitution. However, it is important to note that the original Constitution permitted slavery, and there was strong and widespread racism among Americans, which sustained the system of black slavery and its aftermath of racial segregation and discrimination.
