Isabella Carter
The issue of slavery proved to be a difficult one for the Founding Fathers, who were born into a slaveholding society where the morality of owning slaves was rarely questioned. The word slave does not appear in the US Constitution, as the framers consciously avoided it, recognising that it would sully the document. However, slavery received important protections in the Constitution, including the notorious three-fifths clause, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of framers of the Constitution who owned slaves | 25 of 55 framers, according to the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History; 17 of 55 framers, according to the Constitutional Rights Foundation |
| Names of framers who owned slaves | James Madison, Richard Bassett, John Blair, William Blount, Pierce Butler, Daniel Carroll, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Rutledge, Richard Dobbs Spaight, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Mason, Luther Martin, Gouverneur Morris |
| Number of first five presidents of the United States who were slave owners | 4 |
| Names of first five presidents of the United States who were slave owners | George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison |
| Number of signers of the Declaration of Independence who owned slaves | Majority |
| Framers' views on slavery | Believed slavery was morally wrong and would die out; criticized the institution; worked to build a constitutional republic of liberty that equally protected the rights of all Americans; avoided using the word "slave" in the Constitution |
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What You'll Learn
Of the 55 delegates, 25 owned slaves
The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787 by 55 delegates, 25 of whom owned slaves. This contradiction between the ideals of liberty and freedom espoused by the Enlightenment and the reality of slavery in the colonies proved difficult for the Founding Fathers to navigate. Many of the framers harboured moral qualms about slavery. For instance, Benjamin Franklin, a former slaveholder, and Alexander Hamilton, who was born in a slave colony in the British West Indies, became members of anti-slavery societies. James Madison, often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution", attacked slavery early in the Convention, stating:
> We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man.
Despite their personal misgivings, the framers consciously avoided using the word "slave" in the Constitution, recognising that it would sully the document. Instead, they used euphemisms like "persons held to service or labour". They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want to permanently stain the document. However, this sidestepping of the issue left the seeds for future conflict.
The framers made several concessions to slavery in the Constitution, such as the notorious Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, thereby giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years and included a fugitive slave clause requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners. These compromises were made to ensure the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
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The Constitution avoided using the word 'slave'
The Constitution of the United States consciously avoided using the word "slave". The framers believed that the use of the word would sully the document. The word "slave" was not included in the Constitution, however, slavery received important protections in the Constitution. The Three-Fifths Clause counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. This clause also meant that slaves were considered less than fully human. The Constitution prohibited Congress from ending the slave trade for twenty years and included a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners. The federal government was also given the power to put down domestic rebellions, including slave insurrections.
The framers of the Constitution believed that these concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By sidestepping the issue of slavery, the framers laid the groundwork for future conflict. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, said on the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the US Constitution that it was "defective from the start". He pointed out that the phrase "We the People" excluded a majority of Americans.
The omission of the word "slave" from the Constitution was noted by former slave Frederick Douglass, who observed that the framers deliberately avoided mentioning slavery in the document. Abraham Lincoln, during the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, contended that the Framers avoided any specific mention of slavery because they did not want the idea of slavery to be associated with the "great charter of liberty". Lincoln argued that the American Founding and its Constitution put slavery "in the course of ultimate extinction". This view is contradicted by contemporary criticism of the Constitution's stance on slavery.
The Founding Fathers were born into a slaveholding society where the morality of owning slaves was rarely questioned. While some colonies were for slavery and others against it, the institution was deeply rooted in the colonies. A majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and about half of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. Four of the first five presidents of the United States were slave owners. Many of the Founding Fathers owned numerous slaves, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Others, such as Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, owned a smaller number of slaves or married into slave-owning families. Despite this, all expressed a desire to see the institution gradually abolished.
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The Three-Fifths Clause gave extra representation to slave-holding states
The Three-Fifths Clause, also known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, was a provision in the US Constitution that counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards its total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states, which had large slave populations, more power in the House relative to the Northern states. It also gave slaveholders greater power in Southern legislatures.
The Compromise was struck to resolve an impasse between the slaveholding states and the free states. The slaveholding states wanted their entire population, including slaves, to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could send to Congress. On the other hand, the free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations, as slaves did not have voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise was seen as a way to balance these interests, although it effectively gave extra representation to the slave-holding states.
The Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution and was later superseded by the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, which explicitly repealed the Compromise. Despite this, the impact of the Three-Fifths Clause continued to be felt even after its repeal. After the Reconstruction Era ended in 1877, former slave states used terrorism and illegal tactics to disenfranchise their black citizens while still benefiting from the apportionment of representatives based on total population. This resulted in Southern Democrats gaining greater representation in the House of Representatives and more votes in the Electoral College during presidential elections.
The Three-Fifths Clause was not the only way that slavery was protected in the Constitution. Notably, the Constitution did not include the word "slave" but instead used terms like "person held to service or labour". Additionally, it prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years and included a fugitive slave clause that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. Many of the framers of the Constitution were slave owners themselves, with estimates ranging from 17 to 25 out of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owning slaves. These included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin. While some framers had moral qualms about slavery and expressed a desire for gradual abolition, they ultimately consented to a document that laid the foundation for future conflicts over slavery.
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The Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the slave trade for 20 years
The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified 200 years ago, and on its bicentennial, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, deemed it "defective from the start". Marshall's statement was informed by the fact that the framers of the Constitution left out a majority of Americans when they wrote the phrase, "We the People".
The Constitution did not include the word "slave", as the framers recognised that it would sully the document. However, slavery received important protections in the Constitution. The Three-Fifths Clause, for instance, counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years. This was a compromise between the Southern states, where slavery was pivotal to the economy, and states where the abolition of slavery had been accomplished or was contemplated. The Southern states threatened that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, they would refuse to join the Union. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
The 20-year ban on federal restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade was part of a larger controversy over the trade. Southern delegates agreed to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels, benefiting northeastern shipbuilders and sailors. The same day this agreement was reached, the convention also adopted the Fugitive Slave Clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
The 20-year period ended in 1808, the earliest date permitted by the Constitution for a federal law to abolish the international slave trade in all states. In 1807, Congress passed a statute prohibiting the importation of slaves as of 1 January 1808. This act was signed by President Thomas Jefferson, who had promoted the idea since the 1770s.
Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton were among the Founding Fathers who owned slaves. Despite this, all expressed a wish at some point to see the institution gradually abolished.
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Many framers expressed a desire to see slavery abolished
The issue of slavery proved to be a difficult one for the Founding Fathers to navigate. They were born into a slaveholding society where the morality of owning slaves was rarely questioned. The institution of slavery was protected by law in all 13 American colonies when they declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. A majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and nearly half of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. Four of the first five presidents of the United States were slave owners.
Despite their talk and wish for gradual abolition, no national abolition legislation ever materialized. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers left the seeds for future conflict.
The Constitution never used the word "slave" or "slavery", although it included several clauses that indirectly addressed the issue. These included the Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, which counted three-fifths of a state’s slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years and included a fugitive slave clause requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
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Frequently asked questions
Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves.
Yes, George Washington owned hundreds of slaves. Other prominent slave-owning framers include Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.
Many of the framers harbored moral qualms about slavery. Despite their talk and wish for gradual abolition, no national abolition legislation ever materialized.
The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution. The framers consciously avoided the word, recognizing that it would sully the document. Nevertheless, slavery received important protections in the Constitution, including the notorious three-fifths clause, which gave extra representation to the South in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
The institution of slavery proved to be a difficult issue for the Founding Fathers to navigate. While some colonies were for slavery, and others against it, slavery had deep roots in the colonies. The Founding Fathers had to create the Union with the institution of slavery but built a regime of liberty that they hoped would lead to slavery's ultimate extinction.
