Isabella Carter
The American Civil War was fought between the years 1861 and 1865, resulting in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans. The war was fought primarily over the issue of slavery, with Southern states seceding from the Union and forming the Confederate States of America in order to preserve slavery. The Constitution, drafted in 1787, included several provisions that protected slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which gave Southern states extra representation in the House of Representatives, and the Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. While some of the Founding Fathers believed that they were scheduling an end to slavery by banning the importation of slaves, others recognized that slavery was inconsistent with America's republican ideals. Ultimately, the pro-slavery provisions in the Constitution contributed to the polarization between the North and South and laid the groundwork for the Civil War.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The word "slave" was avoided in the Constitution | The framers consciously avoided the word "slave" in the Constitution, recognising that it would sully the document. |
| The Three-Fifths Clause | The Three-Fifths Clause gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. |
| Prohibition on Congress outlawing the Atlantic slave trade | The Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years. |
| Fugitive Slave Clause | The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. |
| Federal power to put down rebellions | The Constitution gave the federal government the power to put down rebellions, including slave insurrections. |
| Southern delegates' support for a strong central government | The framers believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. |
| Northern realisation of slavery as a national issue | The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 made Northerners realise that slavery was not just a Southern issue. |
| Abolitionist violence | Abolitionist John Brown supported violent action against the South and played a major role in starting the Civil War by leading a raid on a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859. |
| Southern fear of Lincoln's anti-slavery outlook | The election of Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860 struck fear into many Southerners due to his Republican Party's anti-slavery stance. |
| Southern secession and formation of the Confederacy | In response to Lincoln's election, Southern states began to secede from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America in February 1861. |
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What You'll Learn
The Fugitive Slave Act
The severity of the 1850 Act led to abuses and increased bitterness between the North and the South. It also led to a rise in the number of abolitionists and made the operations of the Underground Railroad more efficient. Many free states wanted to disregard the Fugitive Slave Act, and some passed personal liberty laws mandating jury trials for alleged fugitive slaves or forbidding the use of local jails or state officials in arresting or returning them. The Vermont legislature passed the Habeas Corpus Law in November 1850, which established a state judicial process for people accused of being fugitive slaves, rendering the federal Fugitive Slave Act unenforceable in Vermont.
In the early stages of the Civil War, the Union had no established policy on people escaping slavery, and some Union forces returned fugitives to their enslavers. However, General Benjamin Butler and other Union generals refused to recapture fugitives, confiscating them as contraband of war and setting them free. In August 1861, the Confiscation Act of 1861 barred enslavers from re-enslaving captured fugitives who were forced to aid or abet the insurrection. The Fugitive Slave Act was finally repealed in 1864.
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The Three-Fifths Compromise
Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could send to Congress. Free states, on the other hand, wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. The compromise struck counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This effectively gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states and in Southern legislatures. It also gave them extra votes in the Electoral College.
The three-fifths ratio was proposed by James Madison and James Wilson, and seconded by Charles Pinckney. It was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, which stated: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons."
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The Compromise of 1850
The five bills that constituted the Compromise of 1850 were as follows:
- Admission of California as a free state: California was admitted to the Union as a "free state", meaning that slavery was prohibited in the state.
- Establishment of Utah and New Mexico Territories: Utah and New Mexico were established as territories that could decide for themselves whether to permit slavery through the concept of popular sovereignty.
- Texas-New Mexico Boundary: A boundary was defined between Texas and New Mexico, removing Texas's claims to parts of New Mexico. Texas was compensated with $10 million for surrendering its claims.
- Abolition of the Slave Trade in Washington, D.C: The slave trade was prohibited in the nation's capital, although slavery itself was still permitted.
- Amendments to the Fugitive Slave Act: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it easier for slave owners to recover runaway slaves by requiring citizens to assist in their apprehension. It also denied enslaved people the right to a trial by jury.
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The Crittenden Compromise
The compromise proposed six constitutional amendments and four congressional resolutions. It was an attempt to address the fears and grievances of Southern pro-slavery factions and quash anti-slavery activities. At its core was an amendment to extend the line drawn by the 1820 Missouri Compromise to the Pacific, prohibiting slavery north of the 36°30' parallel. This line had been made defunct by the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. Crittenden's proposal also included a provision to forbid the abolition of slavery on federal land in slave-holding states and compensate owners for runaway slaves.
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The Corwin Amendment
> No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fugitive Slave Act was a law that compelled Northerners to seize and return escaped slaves to the South. It was part of the Compromise of 1850, which admitted California as a free state and did not regulate slavery in the remainder of the Mexican cession.
The Fugitive Slave Act paved the way for the Civil War by forcing non-slaveholders to participate in the institution of slavery, leading to increased polarization among centrist citizens. It also reinforced the structural disparity that divided the United States.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a clause in the Constitution that 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 Three-Fifths Compromise gave extra political power to the Southern states, which relied on slavery as the bedrock of their economy. This contributed to the polarization between the North and the South, as the North moved towards emancipation.
