Omar Bennett
The United States Constitution, signed in 1787, was a compromise on the issue of slavery. Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. The exact number of signers of the Constitution who owned slaves is disputed. The Constitution included the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation in Congress and the Electoral College. It also included a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years. Many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned numerous slaves. Despite expressing a desire to see the institution of slavery gradually abolished, no national abolition legislation ever materialized.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of signers of the Constitution who owned slaves | The exact number is disputed, but it is estimated that about 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. |
| Examples of signers who owned slaves | George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton |
| Examples of signers who did not own slaves | John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Clymer, William Ellery, Elbridge Gerry |
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What You'll Learn
- The exact number of signers who owned slaves is disputed, but it is estimated that about 25 of the 55 delegates did
- The Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years
- The Constitution included a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners
- Many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned slaves
- Some signers, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies
The exact number of signers who owned slaves is disputed, but it is estimated that about 25 of the 55 delegates did
The United States Constitution, which was signed by 55 delegates, is a document that has been scrutinized for its ambiguous stance on slavery. The exact number of signers who owned slaves is disputed, but it is estimated that about 25 of the 55 delegates did.
Many of the Founding Fathers who signed the Constitution were slave owners, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin. Some of these men, such as Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies, while others, like Washington, expressed a desire to see the institution gradually abolished. However, none of them took a public stand on the issue during their lifetimes. The compromise was that, in exchange for a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave 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. This compromise allowed for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government, but it also laid the groundwork for future conflicts over slavery.
The Constitution also included a fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and gave the federal government the power to put down domestic rebellions, including slave insurrections. These concessions to the South made the Constitution appear to be a pro-slavery document to some, including abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, who burned the document in 1854, calling it "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell".
The ambiguity of the Constitution regarding slavery was a result of the conflicting interests of the northern and southern states. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to maintain the support of the southern delegates for a strong central government. However, by sidestepping the issue of slavery, they sowed the seeds of future conflict. Despite the efforts of the Founding Fathers, the Constitution's ambiguous stance on slavery would continue to shape the country's history, leading to a devastating civil war and the eventual abolition of slavery.
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The Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years
The exact number of signers of the US Constitution who owned slaves is disputed, but it is estimated that about 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. Many of the framers of the Constitution harboured moral qualms about slavery. Some, including 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. Others, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned numerous slaves.
The US Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years. This was a compromise between the Northern and Southern states, with the Southern delegates agreeing to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels. The Constitution also included a fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of the 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.
The Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population in apportioning representation, gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. This compromise was crucial in Thomas Jefferson's election victory in 1800. The issue of slavery was controversial at the time of the Constitutional Convention, and the framers left the seeds for future conflict by sidestepping the issue.
In 1807, Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, which took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the Constitution. This legislation was promoted by President Thomas Jefferson, who had called for its enactment in his 1806 State of the Union Address. The Act prohibited Americans from participating in the slave trade, even on foreign ships, and made any participation a federal crime. However, the law and the end of the international slave trade did not result in the outright elimination of slavery in the US.
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The Constitution included a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners
The exact number of signers of the US Constitution who owned slaves is disputed, but it is estimated that around 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention were slave owners. Many of the framers of the Constitution harboured moral qualms about slavery. Some, including former slaveholders like Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton (who was born in a slave colony and later married into a slave-owning family) became members of anti-slavery societies.
Despite this, the Constitution included a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners. This was part of a compromise that prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years. In exchange, southern delegates agreed to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels. The same day this agreement was reached, the convention adopted the fugitive slave clause. The framers of the Constitution believed that 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, states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union.
The inclusion of the fugitive slave clause in the Constitution has been a subject of controversy. While it temporarily strengthened slavery, it also created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish the institution. Abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison burned the document, calling it "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell".
Many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned numerous slaves. Others, like Benjamin Franklin, owned only a few. Despite expressing a desire to see slavery gradually abolished, no national abolition legislation ever materialized during their lifetimes. Washington, for instance, wrote in 1786 that he wished to see a plan for the abolition of slavery, but that it could only be accomplished "by Legislative authority". He freed the slaves he owned in his will, the only Founding Father to do so.
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Many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned slaves
Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned slaves. Washington inherited his first ten slaves at the age of eleven when his father died in 1743. He went on to purchase at least eight more slaves, including a carpenter named Kitt. In total, Washington enslaved 123 people at Mount Vernon, and by law, he and his wife Martha Washington controlled another 153 slaves owned by the Custis estate. Washington struggled with the morality of slavery and wrote of his desire to end the practice. He freed the people he had enslaved in his 1799 will, and stipulated that elderly or sick slaves owned by the Custis estate should be supported by his own estate in perpetuity.
Thomas Jefferson enslaved over 600 people throughout his life. Around 400 people were enslaved at Monticello, and another 200 were held in bondage on his other properties. Jefferson wrote that slavery was evil, but he never freed the vast majority of the people he held in bondage. He sold more than 110 slaves during his lifetime, and "gifted" eighty-five people to family members. Jefferson's views on slavery were influenced by the racist ideas promoted by European Enlightenment philosophers.
James Madison owned over one hundred slaves on his Virginia plantation, and he brought enslaved people to the White House. He sold slaves for personal profit, and left the slaves he owned at the time of his death to his wife Dolley, who also never freed them. Madison believed that slavery was morally wrong, but he failed to act on these beliefs to influence policy as President.
The exact number of signers of the Constitution who enslaved people is disputed, but numerous men who signed the document did own slaves.
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Some signers, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies
The exact number of signers of the Constitution who owned slaves is disputed, but it is estimated that about 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. Many of the framers had moral qualms about slavery. Some signers, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies.
Benjamin Franklin, who was a former slaveholder, became vocal as an abolitionist in his later years. In 1787, at the age of 81, he became the President of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, which was originally formed in 1775 as The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. The society advocated for the abolition of slavery and worked to integrate freed slaves into American society. Franklin also circulated 'A Thought Concerning the Sugar Islands' in 1782, in which he denounced the numerous armed conflicts in Africa, the harsh conditions of transatlantic slave transportation, and the "numbers that die under the severities of slavery".
Alexander Hamilton, who was born in a slave colony in the British West Indies, joined the New York Manumission Society in 1785. The society successfully lobbied for legislation to gradually abolish slavery in New York. Hamilton also expressed support for limited emancipation during the American Revolutionary War, endorsing a plan to recruit enslaved men to serve in the Continental Army with the promise of freedom upon enlistment. However, Hamilton's relationship with slavery was complex, and he has been described as being "deeply embedded in slavery". He often acted as a legal arbiter for others in the transactions of people in bondage, and some historians have argued that this effectively made him a slave trader.
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Frequently asked questions
The exact number is disputed, but it is estimated that around 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves.
Yes, several prominent Founding Fathers who were signers of the Constitution also owned slaves. This included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.
Yes, some signers of the Constitution who owned slaves, such as Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies. Additionally, some signers who did not own slaves, including John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Roger Sherman, were abolitionists.
