Simone Lawson
The question of whether the framers of the US Constitution were slave owners is a complex one. Of the 55 delegates at the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves, including some of the most prominent Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson. Many framers had moral qualms about slavery and were members of anti-slavery societies. However, they also recognized that slavery was incompatible with the values of the American Revolution and the natural rights of all humans. The Constitution includes several clauses that indirectly address slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause and the fugitive slave clause, which have been interpreted as both pro-slavery and a compromise to eventually abolish slavery. The framers' legacy on slavery and its impact continue to be debated and interpreted today.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of delegates at the convention | 55 |
| Number of delegates who owned slaves | 25-28 |
| Number of clauses related to slavery | 3-4 |
| Constitution's power to prohibit the slave trade | Laid the foundation for banning slavery |
| Constitution's mention of the word "slave" | No |
| Constitution's indirect mention of slavery | Yes |
| Constitution's fugitive slave clause | Yes |
| Constitution's three-fifths clause | Yes |
| Constitution's ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years | Yes |
| Constitution's slave insurrection clause | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause
The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. This agreement was regarding the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. This count would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives those states could elect and send to Congress. Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives, effectively giving the Southern states more power in the House relative to the North.
The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. The clause states: "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."
The Three-Fifths Compromise gave a disproportionate representation of slave states in the House of Representatives. This compromise was later superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
Many of the framers of the Constitution harbored moral qualms about slavery. They believed that slavery contradicted the natural rights of all and denied the idea of consent in a republic. They consistently worked to build a constitutional republic of liberty that equally protected the rights of all Americans. Some framers, 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.
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Fugitive Slave Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, was Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution. The clause was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
The clause stated that:
> "No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due."
This clause gave enslavers the right to seize enslaved people who had escaped to free states and return them to slavery. It effectively nullified the Thirteenth Amendment's abolition of slavery. The Fugitive Slave Clause was enforced by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, with further strength added to its enforcement provisions by the Compromise of 1850.
The wording of the clause was ambiguous and vague, with the words "slave" and "slavery" notably absent. This was a conscious decision by the framers of the Constitution, who wanted to avoid permanently staining the document with an immoral practice that they believed would eventually die out. The framers were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, some states would refuse to join the Union. However, this ambiguity led to the kidnapping of free African Americans, who were then illegally enslaved.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was one of four clauses in the Constitution that indirectly addressed slavery. The others were the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, and the Slave Insurrection Clause.
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Slave Insurrection Clause
The framers of the US Constitution included about 25 slave owners among the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. While some members of the convention voiced objections to slavery, the final document laid the foundation for future tragic events. The Constitution included several clauses that protected slavery and the slave trade, despite never using the words "slave" or "slavery".
One of these clauses was the Slave Insurrection Clause, found in Article I, Section 8. This clause gave the chief executive the power and duty to suppress "riots or insurrections" in the interests of maintaining law and order. While it included slave insurrections, Frederick Douglass argued that it was a general statement about the power of the executive.
The Slave Insurrection Clause was part of a group of clauses in the Constitution that addressed slavery and the slave trade indirectly. These included the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation, giving the South more power in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. There was also the Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years.
The framers of the Constitution believed that they were creating a regime of liberty that would eventually lead to the extinction of slavery. They were embarrassed by the institution of slavery and did not want it permanently stained on the document. However, by avoiding the issue, they laid the groundwork for future conflict.
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Founding Fathers' views on slavery
The views of the Founding Fathers on slavery were varied and often contradictory. While many of the Founding Fathers acknowledged that slavery violated the core American Revolutionary ideal of liberty, their simultaneous commitment to private property rights, principles of limited government, and intersectional harmony prevented them from taking a bold stance against slavery.
The Founding Fathers' views on slavery were influenced by their recognition that slavery was against the values of the American Revolution. They understood that slavery was incompatible with the ideals of liberty and equality that they espoused. However, they also prioritized the creation of a strong central government and believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates.
Many of the Founding Fathers harbored moral qualms about slavery, and some, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies. They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out. However, they also recognized the economic importance of slavery to the southern states and were concerned about maintaining unity among the states. This led them to sidestep the issue of slavery in the Constitution, which ultimately laid the foundation for future conflict.
The Constitution included several clauses that indirectly addressed slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, the fugitive slave clause, and the slave insurrections clause. These clauses were included as compromises to appease the southern states and ensure their support for the Constitution.
Some Founding Fathers, like Thomas Jefferson, condemned the injustice of the slave trade and acknowledged that slavery violated the natural rights of the enslaved. However, he also absolved Americans of responsibility for owning slaves and blamed the presence of enslaved Africans on British colonial policies. Jefferson's views on slavery were complex and contradictory, as he himself owned slaves and dehumanized enslaved African Americans in his writings.
In conclusion, the Founding Fathers' views on slavery were shaped by their commitment to liberty and equality, as well as their recognition of the practical and economic realities of the time. While they may have had moral qualms about slavery, they ultimately prioritized unity and stability over taking a strong stance against it. Their failure to adequately address slavery in the Constitution had significant consequences for the future of the nation.
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The Constitution's legacy
The US Constitution, even in its original form, was a document that laid the foundations for a powerful central government. However, its legacy is marred by its concessions to slavery, which were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates. The Constitution's framers believed that the issue of slavery would resolve itself in time, and that the Union was more important than the continuation of slavery.
The Constitution included several clauses that protected slavery. The Three-Fifths Clause gave southern states extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Constitution also included a ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years, a fugitive slave clause, and a slave insurrection clause. Notably, the document never used the words "slave" or "slavery", instead referring to slaves as "persons". This was a deliberate omission by the framers, who recognised that slavery was morally wrong and did not want the permanent stain of it on their document.
The legacy of the Constitution's relationship with slavery is complex and has been debated since its inception. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, said on the 200th anniversary of the Constitution's ratification that it was "defective from the start". He pointed out that the phrase "We the People" excluded the majority of Americans, and that the framers had laid the foundation for tragic events.
On the other hand, some argue that the Constitution's power to prohibit the slave trade would eventually lead to the abolition of slavery. Frederick Douglass believed that the framers' intentions were good, and that the Constitution looked to the abolition of slavery rather than its perpetuity. Abraham Lincoln also argued that the framers avoided mentioning slavery because they did not want it associated with the great charter of liberty.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, of the 55 delegates at the convention, almost half owned slaves.
Yes and no. The Constitution included the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, the fugitive slave clause, and the slave insurrection clause. However, the framers avoided using the words "slave" or "slavery" and believed that slavery would eventually die out.
Most of the framers recognised that slavery was against the values of the American Revolution. Many had moral qualms about slavery, but few freed their slaves. They believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
The US Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery. However, it also laid the foundation for future conflict by sidestepping the slavery issue.
