Eleanor Finch
The Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves, passed on March 2, 1807, was a significant step towards the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The Act, which took effect on January 1, 1808, prohibited Americans from participating in the slave trade, even on foreign ships, with heavy penalties imposed on international traders. However, it did not end slavery or the domestic sale of slaves within the United States. The road to abolishing the slave trade was long and complex, with debates and compromises made at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and it was not until after the American Civil War that slavery and the internal slave trade were finally abolished.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves | 2nd March 1807 |
| Effective Date of the Act | 1st January 1808 |
| Clause in the Constitution | Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 |
| Clause's Expiry Date | 1808 |
| Clause's Purpose | Preventing Congress from banning the importation of slaves from Africa for twenty years |
| President | Thomas Jefferson |
| States that reopened the international slave trade | North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina |
| States that banned slave trade during the Revolutionary War | All of the Thirteen Colonies |
| States that passed legislation to abolish slavery after the American Revolution | Most Northern States |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Compromise
Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives those states could elect and send to Congress. Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, given that those slaves had no voting rights. A compromise was struck to resolve this impasse. The compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives, effectively giving the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states.
The three-fifths ratio was proposed by James Madison and was first proposed to the Articles of Confederation on April 18, 1783. This amendment was to change the basis for determining the wealth of each state, and hence its tax obligations, from real estate to population, as a measure of ability to produce wealth.
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Fugitive Slave Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and lasted until 1792. The clause requires that a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state must be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped.
The exact wording of the clause is:
> No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
This clause gave enslavers the right to seize enslaved people who had escaped to free states. It effectively nullified the Thirteenth Amendment's abolition of slavery, as it contemplated the existence of a right on the part of a slaveholder to reclaim an enslaved person who had escaped to another state. The Fugitive Slave Clause was unanimously approved by the Convention, despite objections from James Wilson and Roger Sherman, who argued that it would oblige the executive of the state to seize fugitive slaves at public expense.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was rendered mostly irrelevant by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery except as a punishment for criminal acts. However, it is important to note that the clause itself did not use the words "slave" or "slavery". Instead, it referred to a "Person held to Service or Labour". This was in line with historian Donald Fehrenbacher's belief that the Constitution intended to make it clear that slavery existed only under state law, not federal law.
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The Slave Trade Act of 1794
The primary purpose of the Slave Trade Act of 1794 was to prohibit the participation of American citizens and ships in the international slave trade. The Act made it illegal for any citizen of the United States or any person residing within the United States to build, fit, equip, load, or dispatch any ship or vessel within the United States for the purpose of carrying on the slave trade to any foreign country. It also prohibited the procurement of individuals from foreign places or countries to be transported and sold as slaves in foreign countries.
The Act imposed fines and penalties on those who violated its provisions. Any citizen who participated in the prohibited activities would be subject to a fine of $200 for each person received on board, transported, or sold as a slave, as stated in Section 4 of the Act. This section also outlined the legal process for enforcing these fines, with half of the money going to the United States and the other half to the person who initiated the legal action.
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The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
The Act only affected the import and export of slaves and did not impact the internal trade within or between states. It made all importation from abroad, even on foreign ships, a federal crime. The role of the Navy was expanded to include patrols off the coasts of Cuba and South America to enforce this. The Act imposed heavy penalties on international slave traders, but it did not end slavery or the domestic sale of slaves within the United States.
The Act came into effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the United States Constitution. This date had been agreed upon by delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, who needed to carefully handle the controversial issue of slavery to avoid ruining the convention. Northern states were against the continued importation of slaves, while Southern states were in favour. The compromise, reflected in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution, prevented Congress from outlawing the importation of slaves until 1808.
Despite the Act, historians estimate that up to 50,000 slaves were illegally imported into the United States after 1808, mainly through Spanish Florida and Texas. The interstate sale of slaves also remained legal, and slaves continued to be sold and transported within the United States. The Act did not end the international slave trade, but it was a significant step towards its abolition.
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The First Amendment
The US Constitution, which was drafted in 1787, did not immediately outlaw the foreign slave trade. In fact, the Constitution included a clause that prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves from Africa for twenty years, until 1808. This was a compromise made to win the support of Southern delegates, as it was believed that without this concession, South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union.
During the 20-year period, several states outlawed the slave trade in their territory, and popular support for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself increased. In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson urged Congress to take the final step and end the slave trade. In his 1806 State of the Union Address, he called for the enactment of legislation to prohibit the importation of slaves, and in 1807, Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. This legislation took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the US Constitution.
The 1807 Act made the importation of slaves into the United States a federal crime, even on foreign ships. It imposed heavy penalties on international traders, but it did not end slavery itself or the domestic sale of slaves. The domestic or "coastwise" trade in slaves persisted between ports within the United States, and it is estimated that up to 50,000 slaves were illegally imported into the country after 1808.
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Frequently asked questions
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the US Constitution, also known as the "Importation of Persons Clause", prevented Congress from banning the importation of slaves from Africa for twenty years.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a clause in the US Constitution that counted three-fifths of a state's slave population in apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
No, the Constitution did not immediately outlaw the foreign slave trade. The "Slave Trade Clause" prevented Congress from banning the importation of slaves for twenty years after the Constitution took effect.
The Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the US Constitution.
No, the 1808 Act imposed heavy penalties on international traders but did not end slavery itself nor the domestic sale of slaves.
