Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution's stance on slavery is a highly controversial topic in American history. The word slave does not appear in the Constitution, but slavery received important protections in the form of the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation, benefiting the South. The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the slave trade for 20 years and included a fugitive slave clause requiring the return of runaway slaves. The 13th Amendment, passed at the end of the Civil War, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This was preceded by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which declared slaves in Confederate-controlled areas free. The Founding Fathers' intentions regarding slavery remain a subject of debate, with some believing they intended for it to eventually end, while others argue they included protections for slavery in the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution | The word "slave" is not mentioned in the Constitution |
| Slaves were referred to as "all other Persons" | The phrase "all other Persons" implies slavery |
| Slaves were considered property | Slaves were treated as property |
| Slaves were imported into and held as property in the American colonies | Slaves were imported into American colonies and considered property |
| The Constitution protected slavery | The Constitution protected slavery in the states |
| The Constitution prohibited Congress from banning the slave trade for twenty years | The Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years |
| The Constitution required the return of runaway slaves to their owners | The fugitive slave clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners |
| The Constitution gave the federal government the power to put down domestic rebellions, including slave insurrections | The Constitution gave the federal government the power to put down slave rebellions |
| The Three-Fifths Compromise | The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation |
| The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery | The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Compromise
The 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. This compromise also increased the direct federal tax burden on slaveholding states, as the same three-fifths ratio was used to determine their federal tax contributions.
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Fugitive Slave Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It requires that a "Person held to Service or Labour" who escapes to another state must be returned to their master in the state from which they fled. The clause was a compromise between Northern and Southern states, as slavery was outlawed in the North but a way of life in the South. It was enacted without the words "slave" or "slavery" being mentioned, and historian Donald Fehrenbacher believes this was done to avoid sanctioning slavery at the federal level.
The Fugitive Slave Clause formed the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which gave slaveholders the right to capture and reclaim enslaved people who had escaped to free states. The enforcement provisions of this Act were strengthened in 1850, leading to increased resistance in the North. Several Northern states enacted personal liberty laws to protect free Black residents and provide safeguards for accused fugitives. This resistance further polarised public opinion, and the Supreme Court's ruling in Ableman v. Booth (1859) reinforced federal supremacy.
The Fugitive Slave Clause has been the subject of debate among legal scholars, with some arguing that its vague wording avoided overtly validating slavery at the federal level, while others contend that it entrenched slaveholder power. The Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, has rendered the clause mostly irrelevant and unenforceable. However, it is notable that the Constitution of the Confederate States mentioned slavery by name and contained a more rigid form of the Fugitive Slave Clause.
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Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the U.S. Constitution, passed on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, with the exception of those duly convicted of a crime. Before the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery was sparingly mentioned in the Constitution. The Three-Fifths Compromise, mentioned in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, was the only reference to the way enslaved persons were to be regarded by the federal government, being treated as "three-fifths" of a fully free citizen. The Fugitive Slave Clause, located in Article IV, Section 2, asserted that a slave who was bound by the laws of their home state remained a slave even if they fled to a non-slavery state.
The Thirteenth Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War. It was preceded by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1, 1863, declaring that enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas were free. However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery nationwide, as it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in rebellion and not to the "border states" that remained in the Union. Thus, Lincoln recognised that a constitutional amendment was necessary to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.
The first section of the Thirteenth Amendment states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This amendment not only abolished chattel slavery, the most recognisable form of slavery at the time, but also restricted other forms of bound labour and servitude, such as indentured servitude and peonage. The addition of the phrase "involuntary servitude" was intended to cover systems such as the Mexican peonage and the Chinese coolie trade, which could have been a revival of slavery under a different name.
The second section of the Thirteenth Amendment empowers Congress to enforce the first section "by appropriate legislation". This unique language grants Congress broad power to pass laws necessary for abolishing all badges and incidents of slavery. This enforcement clause has been used to fight racial discrimination in various sectors, including private inns, theatres, public transportation, housing, and, more recently, human trafficking.
While the Thirteenth Amendment was a significant step towards abolishing slavery, it did not entirely eradicate it. The exception clause, which allows slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime, has enabled slavery to persist through punitive systems. As of 2022, 19 states have constitutions that explicitly permit slavery, involuntary servitude, or both as criminal punishment. States have been driving efforts to eliminate these exceptions through ballot initiatives, with Colorado, Nebraska, and Utah successfully removing such language from their constitutions.
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Founding Fathers' views
The Founding Fathers' views on slavery were varied, complex, and often contradictory. While some of them owned slaves, others were members of anti-slavery societies. Many of them acknowledged that slavery violated the core American Revolutionary ideal of liberty and equality, but their commitment to private property rights, principles of limited government, and intersectional harmony prevented them from taking a stronger stance against it.
The Founding Fathers' views on slavery were shaped by the historical context of the time. Slavery had deep roots in the American colonies, and by the time of the Revolutionary War in 1775, it had been a part of American society for more than 150 years. During the war and immediately after, some Northern states began passing laws to gradually abolish slavery within their borders. However, their economies were still tied to exports from the Southern states, which relied heavily on slave labor, especially after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793.
Many of the Founding Fathers expressed a desire to see slavery gradually abolished. For example, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence, owned slaves throughout his life and may have fathered children with one of them, Sally Hemings. Despite this, he wrote about his belief that slavery was a political and moral evil that he wished to abolish. Similarly, George Washington, who owned slaves, signed a Congressional act prohibiting slavery in several territories.
Other Founding Fathers who were members of anti-slavery societies include Benjamin Franklin, who co-founded America's first anti-slavery society, and Alexander Hamilton, who was born in a slave colony in the British West Indies and married into a large slave-owning family. John Jay, the son of one of the largest slaveholders in New York and a slaveholder himself, claimed that he only owned slaves to free them later, and he and Hamilton co-founded the New York Manumission Society in 1785.
However, the Founding Fathers' views on slavery were not unanimous, and some scholars portray them as racists who sought to protect slavery and its expansion. During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, there were intense debates over slavery, with some delegates arguing for prohibiting the federal government from regulating the Atlantic slave trade, while others, like Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder himself, argued that the slave trade should be subject to federal regulation. The final Constitution included several clauses related to slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, and the fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
In summary, the Founding Fathers' views on slavery were complex and varied. While some owned slaves and defended the institution, others recognized its immorality and worked towards its gradual abolition. The historical context, economic factors, and competing ideals of liberty and private property rights shaped their perspectives and actions on this contentious issue.
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The Civil War
The American Civil War was fought over the issue of slavery. While the Constitution did not use the word "slave", it contained references and protections for enslavement. The infamous Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation, giving Southern states with large slave populations an advantage in terms of representation and votes. The Constitution also included a Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
In the decades leading up to the Civil War, political tensions rose as abolitionists and proponents of slavery argued over whether new US territories would be admitted as "slave" or "free" states. The expansion of slavery was an important political and economic goal for slaveholders, and this continued during the war, with a large expansion of slavery into Texas. The Southern states' resistance to attempts by Northern anti-slavery political forces to block this expansion was a primary catalyst for the war.
During the Civil War, the market for buying and selling enslaved people continued, and the price of enslaved workers grew, although it did not keep up with inflation. Slave life changed significantly as Union Armies took control of broad areas of land in the South. Enslaved people played an active role in their own emancipation, and thousands escaped from bondage during the war. The resistance of enslaved people had a significant impact on Southern troop morale, as it undermined the belief that Black people were more loyal to the Confederacy than the Union.
As the nation approached the end of the Civil War, questions arose about the legal authority for the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, officially ending slavery in the United States. Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia in 1862 and in the territories in 1862 as well.
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Frequently asked questions
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a clause in the Constitution that counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation. This gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
While the word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, slavery received important protections. For example, the Constitution 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.
Many of the Framers harbored moral qualms about slavery. Some, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies. However, they believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
