Malcolm Rivera
The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1787, did not explicitly mention slavery or slave, but it included protections for the institution of slavery, such as the notorious three-fifths clause, which gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates, and they left the issue of slavery for future generations to resolve. The debate over slavery continued in the 1800s, with pro-slavery and anti-slavery voices using the Constitution's language to support their respective arguments. The 13th Amendment, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, finally abolished slavery in the United States, marking a significant turning point in the nation's history.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of the 13th Amendment's ratification | 1865 |
| Date of the 13th Amendment's ratification | December 6, 1865 |
| Date of the House Joint Resolution Proposing the 13th Amendment | January 31, 1865 |
| Date of the Senate's passing of the 13th Amendment | April 8, 1864 |
| Date of the House's passing of the 13th Amendment | January 31, 1865 |
| Date of President Lincoln's assassination | 1865 |
| Date of the 1808 Compromise | 1808 |
| Date of the Fugitive Slave Act | 1793 |
| Date of the Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court case | 1857 |
| Date of the Emancipation Proclamation | 1863 |
| Date of the Thirteenth Amendment's certification | December 18, 1865 |
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What You'll Learn
The 13th Amendment
The framers of the Constitution sidestepped the issue of slavery, recognising the divide between the northern and southern states. While some delegates vehemently opposed slavery, others, particularly those from the south, threatened to refuse to join the Union if the federal government regulated the slave trade. This compromise resulted in the inclusion of the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes, giving southern states more power in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College.
In 1854, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison burned the Constitution, deeming it "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell," reflecting the growing sentiment that the Constitution was complicit in upholding slavery. President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 declared that all persons held as slaves in states in rebellion against the Union would be "forever free." However, it did not end slavery nationwide and applied only to areas in rebellion, excluding the border states.
Lincoln recognised that a constitutional amendment was necessary to abolish slavery permanently. The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification on February 1, 1865. Despite some resistance, the required number of states (27 out of 36) ratified the amendment by December 6, 1865. The amendment's adoption marked a significant turning point in American history, providing a final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery and expanding civil rights for Americans.
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Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
The U.S. Constitution, which was signed on September 17, 1787, included a Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3). This clause guaranteed slaveholders the right to recover escaped slaves. However, it did not outline the process for doing so, and this omission led to a dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia. This dispute eventually resulted in the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, just six years after the signing of the Constitution.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was passed by Congress on February 4, 1793, and signed into law by President George Washington on February 12, 1793. The Act clarified the process by which slave owners could reclaim their "property" and was designed to balance the interests of free and slave states. It was created in response to a controversy surrounding John Davis, a free black man who was kidnapped from Pennsylvania and brought to Virginia.
Under the Act, any federal district judge, circuit court judge, or state magistrate was authorized to decide, without a jury trial, the status of an alleged fugitive from slavery. This meant that fugitive slaves were at risk of recapture for the rest of their lives. The Act also classified children born to fugitive slave mothers as slaves and the property of their mother's master.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was enforced primarily through the slave-catching industry, which expanded as a result of the law. These slave catchers, or bounty hunters, captured and returned many slaves to their owners. The demand for slaves in the Deep South and the hunt for fugitives put free blacks at risk of being kidnapped and sold into slavery, even if they had documentation of their freedom. There were numerous documented cases of free people being captured and sold into slavery due to this law.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was strengthened at the insistence of the slave states in the Compromise of 1850, which required state governments and residents of free states to enforce the capture and return of fugitive slaves. This caused outrage in the Northern states, and the Fugitive Slave Act was finally repealed on June 28, 1864, during the American Civil War.
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The Civil War
The US Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not contain the word "slave". However, slavery was a fiercely debated topic during the Constitutional Convention, and the document included references and protections for slavery. The Three-Fifths Clause, for instance, gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The delegates also agreed to a Fugitive Slave Clause, which allowed slave owners to seize and repossess their slaves in another state.
In the decades leading up to the Civil War, political tensions simmered as abolitionists and proponents of slavery argued over whether new US territories would be admitted to the union as "slave" or "free" states. The issue of slavery was a moral and ethical question that threatened the unity of the nation. The anti-slavery movement was part of the American story from the very beginning, with interracial groups of men and women advocating for emancipation.
In 1808, two decades after the Constitution's ratification, Congress prohibited importing enslaved people from other countries. While northern states had already abolished or begun to abolish slavery, the domestic trade in enslaved people continued in the South. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were all attempts to address the political power imbalances between the North and the South.
As the nation approached the Civil War, the legal authority for the Emancipation Proclamation was questioned. In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, General Benjamin Butler refused to return fugitives to slavery in the Confederacy. In 1862, Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia and the territories via the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act and the Abolition of Slavery Act (Territories). In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all persons held as slaves within any state in rebellion against the US would be "forever free".
However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation as it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in rebellion and not to the "loyal" border states that remained in the Union. It became clear that a constitutional amendment was needed to guarantee the abolishment of slavery. The 13th Amendment, passed at the end of the Civil War, abolished slavery in the United States. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865. Along with the 14th and 15th Amendments, it greatly expanded the civil rights of Americans, leading some scholars to refer to them as America's "Second Founding".
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The 14th and 15th Amendments
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, further expanded on the 14th Amendment by explicitly stating that the right to vote could not be denied based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment was particularly significant for African American men, who were now guaranteed the right to vote. However, the exclusion of women from this amendment led to a divide in the women's rights movement, with some activists advocating for the inclusion of women alongside black men, while others supported the amendment as it stood.
The 14th Amendment, also known as the Equal Protection and Rights of Citizens Amendment, was an important step towards establishing equality for all citizens, regardless of race or gender. It affirmed the rights of all citizens to "life, liberty, and property" and ensured that states could not create laws that took away these rights. This amendment was particularly significant for former slaves, as it guaranteed them the same rights and protections as all other citizens.
The 15th Amendment built upon the foundations laid by the 14th, solidifying the right to vote for all citizens regardless of race. This amendment was a significant milestone in the fight for racial equality and the expansion of voting rights in the United States. It addressed the specific issue of racial discrimination in voting, ensuring that all citizens had an equal voice in the democratic process.
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The 1808 Compromise
The Compromise of 1808 also addressed the issue of slavery in South Carolina. Upcountry politicians, such as Robert Goodloe Harper, had hinted that the upcountry would be better off without slavery. However, lowcountry opponents seized on this point and argued that backcountry representatives were extremists. Joseph Alston, a wealthy planter and lowcountry leader, pushed for reform and argued that the backcountry was sufficiently supportive of slavery.
The Compromise of 1808 was significant because it helped to unify South Carolina and address the concerns of the upcountry residents. It also ensured that slavery would continue to be protected in the state, as the lowcountry ceded some political control in exchange for this protection.
It is important to note that the 1808 Compromise was specific to South Carolina and did not directly impact the federal legislation regarding the slave trade at the time. In 1808, the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves took effect, making it illegal for Americans to engage in the international slave trade. However, domestic trade within the United States persisted, and slaves continued to be sold and transported within the country.
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Frequently asked questions
89 years. The US Constitution was signed in 1787, and slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
The Thirteenth Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments passed after the Civil War. It abolished slavery and prohibited chattel slavery across the United States and in every territory under its control, except as criminal punishment.
The Thirteenth Amendment was based on the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which included an identical exception for criminal punishment. Thomas Jefferson authored an early version of the anti-slavery clause.
The US Constitution included protections for slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise, and allowed the continuation of the international slave trade for 20 years after the country's founding. However, some argue that it also created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery.
