Simone Lawson
The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789, did not contain the words slave or slavery in its text. Instead, it referred to slaves as “persons” and indirectly addressed the issue of slavery through clauses such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Slave Trade Clause, and the Fugitive Slave Clause. The absence of explicit references to slavery in the Constitution has been a subject of debate, with some arguing that it reflected the Framers' embarrassment or moral qualms about the institution, while others suggest it was a compromise between the Northern and Southern states to ensure ratification and formation of the Union. The Constitution's protection of slavery, despite the ideals of liberty and equality, has been criticized as its biggest flaw.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Use of the word "slave" | The word "slave" was not used in the Constitution. |
| Framers' beliefs | The framers believed slavery was morally wrong and would die out. |
| Framers' intentions | The framers did not want slavery to be a permanent moral stain on the document. |
| Framers' embarrassment | The framers were embarrassed to use the word "slavery" and did not want to acknowledge its presence as a formative element in the nation. |
| Framers' justifications | The framers believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. |
| Specific clauses related to slavery | The Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, the fugitive slave clause, and the slave insurrections. |
| Constitution's impact on slavery | The Constitution protected and institutionalized slavery. |
| Constitution's role in abolition | The Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery. |
| Number of framers owning slaves | Out of 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. |
| Compromises | The framers made compromises between Northern and Southern states, such as postponing the possibility of terminating the international slave trade for 20 years. |
| Constitutional protections for slavery | Article 1, Section 9, prohibits Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808; Article 5 prohibited this from being amended; Article 1, Section 2, provides that enslaved black people in a state will be counted as three-fifths of the number of white inhabitants for representation in Congress; Article 4, Section 2, contains the fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners. |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause
The Southern states, which relied heavily on slave labour in agriculture, wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, the Free States in the North wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations, as those slaves had no voting rights.
As a compromise, it was agreed that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave Southern states more power in the House and in the Electoral College. However, this same ratio was used to determine the federal tax contribution required of each state, increasing the direct federal tax burden of slaveholding states.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which stated that "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States...according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons...three-fifths of all other Persons." Notably, the words "slave" and "slavery" do not appear in this clause or anywhere in the unamended Constitution, as the Framers consciously avoided using these terms, recognising that they would sully the document.
In 1868, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the Three-Fifths Compromise.
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The Fugitive Slave Clause
The clause was first proposed by Pierce Butler and Charles Pinckney of South Carolina during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Notably, the word "slave" is not mentioned in the text of the clause. Instead, it refers to a "Person held to Service or Labour", which could also include apprentices or indentured servants. This was a deliberate choice, reflecting the intent to establish that slavery existed under state law, not federal law.
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The Slave Trade Clause
The specific use of the word "importation" in the Slave Trade Clause was chosen to avoid directly mentioning the slave trade, as the framers of the Constitution believed that slavery was morally wrong and did not want to permanently stain the document. This is consistent with the fact that the Constitution never uses the words "slave" or "slavery" and only obliquely refers to the institution through clauses such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years.
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The Importation of Persons Clause
The US Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789, did not contain the words "slave" or "slavery" within its text. Instead, the drafters used the term persons to refer to slaves. This is evident in the Importation of Persons Clause, also known as the Slave Trade Clause, which prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of "persons" until 1808.
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution, also known as the Importation of Persons Clause, states:
> "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight..."
This clause prevented Congress from outlawing the importation of slaves for 20 years after the Constitution took effect. The Southern states, which relied heavily on slave labour in agriculture, were particularly invested in the continuation of the slave trade. The Northern states, on the other hand, were against the continued importation of slaves. This clause was a compromise between the two regions, reflecting the contentious nature of slavery at the time of the Constitutional Convention.
While the Constitution did not explicitly use the word "slave," it protected the institution of slavery and ensured its continuation in the early years of the United States.
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The Civil War and its impact on slavery
The American Civil War was the culmination of a series of confrontations concerning the institution of slavery. The war had a significant impact on slavery, with Abraham Lincoln's pledge to emancipate slaves in the Emancipation Proclamation solidifying the issue of slavery as central to the conflict. The market for buying and selling enslaved people continued during the war, with the price of enslaved workers rising but not keeping up with inflation, leading to a decline in the real price of enslaved people. The expansion of slavery into new territories, such as Texas, was also a political and economic goal for slaveholders during the war.
The Civil War also had international consequences, despite being a domestic war. The United States, especially the Confederate states, had an economic monopoly on cotton production, which was produced by enslaved labour. This maintained the key role of slavery in foreign policy and relations with other states and empires. While nations like the United Kingdom and France did not officially participate in the war, they were concerned about the financial impact on their economies and relied on American cotton for industrial purposes.
The Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789, did not contain the words "slave" or "slavery" within its text. However, it included several clauses that directly or indirectly addressed slavery and protected the institution. The Three-Fifths Clause counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards the state's total population for apportioning the House of Representatives, giving Southern states more power. The Slave Trade Clause prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808. The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
In conclusion, the Civil War had a significant impact on slavery in the United States, both during the conflict and in its aftermath. The war brought to the forefront the issue of slavery, which had been a source of tension and confrontation for many years. The Constitution's ambiguous stance on slavery was a contributing factor to the war, and the conflict ultimately led to a re-examination of the role of slavery in American society and a push towards emancipation.
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Frequently asked questions
Many people believe that the US Constitution's biggest flaw was its protection of the institution of slavery.
No. The Constitution did not contain the words "slave" or "slavery" within its text. Instead, it referred to slaves as "persons".
The framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the word "slave" as they believed slavery was morally wrong and did not want a permanent moral stain on the document. They also did not want to suggest that slavery was recognised under federal law.
The Constitution protected slavery through the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years, the fugitive slave clause, and the slave insurrections.
This is a question that has been debated for centuries. While some argue that the Constitution strengthened slavery, others believe that it created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish the institution.
