Isabella Carter
The topic of slavery was hotly debated during the drafting of the US Constitution, with many of the framers harbouring moral qualms about the practice. The Three-Fifths Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the concession to southern delegates that the Atlantic slave trade would not be prohibited for 20 years were all part of the compromise that allowed the Constitution to be ratified. While the Constitution did not explicitly ban the slave trade, it gave Congress the power to regulate it, and in 1808, the importation of slaves into the US was banned.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of agreement | 1808 |
| Date of effect | 1st January 1808 |
| Agreement details | The importation of slaves into the United States was prohibited |
| Act | The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves |
| Act details | Imposed heavy penalties on international traders |
| Act date | 2nd March 1807 |
| Act section | Article 1, Section 9 |
| Clause | Slave Trade Clause |
| Clause details | Did not grant Congress the power to restrict the slave trade |
| Compromise | 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 |
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What You'll Learn
The 1787 Constitutional Convention debated slavery
The 1787 Constitutional Convention saw fierce and passionate debates about slavery. Of the 55 delegates, about 25 owned slaves, and many had moral qualms about the practice. The convention witnessed "eloquent objections" to slavery, with some delegates arguing that it was inconsistent with American ideals and the principles of the Revolution.
Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, believed that the slave trade should be subject to federal regulation, as the nation would be responsible for suppressing slave revolts. He also considered the slave trade dishonourable and inconsistent with America's republican values. Ellsworth of Connecticut, who had never enslaved anyone, argued that banning the slave trade was not enough, and that the country ought to free those already in America.
The delegates debated a section of the draft Constitution that forbade Congress from banning or taxing the slave trade. A compromise was eventually reached, with the convention voting 7-3-1 to form a committee to consider a compromise involving taxation, imports, exports, and the slave trade. The committee was comprised of 11 members, one from each state present, and almost all of them had enslaved people at some point in their lives or came from families that did.
The convention ultimately agreed to a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade, with southern delegates agreeing to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels. This compromise settled the controversy over the Atlantic slave trade, and in 1808, Congress passed an act prohibiting the importation of slaves. However, this did not end slavery or the domestic sale of slaves, and a coastwise trade in slaves persisted within the United States.
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The Slave Trade Clause
In the years leading up to 1808, popular support for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself increased in the United States and internationally. Congress passed statutes regulating the trade in slaves by US ships, and other countries also passed legislation restricting the practice. In 1800, an act of Congress made it illegal for Americans to engage in the slave trade between nations, and authorised the seizure of slave ships.
On January 1, 1808, the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves took effect, making it a federal crime to import slaves into the United States. This legislation was promoted by President Thomas Jefferson, who had called for its enactment since the 1770s. However, it did not end slavery or the domestic sale of slaves, and the international trade in human beings continued to be a morally and politically relevant issue.
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The 1808 Act
The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 (2 Stat. 426, enacted March 2, 1807) was a federal law in the United States that prohibited the importation of slaves into the country. The act took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by the United States Constitution. This legislation was promoted by President Thomas Jefferson, who called for its enactment in his 1806 State of the Union Address.
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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" (usually a slave) who escapes to another state must be returned to their master in the state they escaped from. The clause was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
The clause gave slaveholders the right to seize and repossess their slaves in another state, as long as the local laws of their own state granted them this right. It also meant that state laws that penalised such a seizure were deemed unconstitutional. The Fugitive Slave Clause was based on the idea that slavery existed only under state law, not federal law. This was reflected in the last-minute change to the clause's wording, from "legally held to service or labour in one state" to "held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof". This revision made it impossible to interpret that the Constitution legally sanctioned slavery.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was effectively nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. The Amendment rendered the clause mostly irrelevant, although it has been noted that people can still be held to service or labour under limited circumstances. An attempt to repeal the clause in 1864, during the Civil War, failed.
The Fugitive Slave Clause formed the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which gave slaveholders the right to capture their escaped slaves. The enforcement of this Act was strengthened as part of the Compromise of 1850, which made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves.
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Domestic slave trade
The Constitution's impact on the Atlantic slave trade is a complex and contentious issue. While it did not explicitly ban the practice, it included provisions that set a timeframe for potential future restrictions. Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution stated that Congress could not prohibit the "importation" of enslaved people before 1808. This 20-year grace period was a compromise between northern and southern states, with the latter relying heavily on slavery and resistant to its abolition.
The 1808 Act, passed by Congress, made it illegal for Americans to engage in the international slave trade and allowed authorities to seize slave ships and confiscate their human cargo. However, this legislation did not end the domestic or "coastwise" trade in slaves within U.S. ports and territories. Slaves continued to be bought and sold within the country, and individual states had varying approaches to the practice. For example, South Carolina reopened its involvement in the slave trade in 1803 and was the only state allowing the Atlantic slave trade by 1807.
The domestic slave trade in the United States persisted due to a combination of economic, political, and social factors. Enslaved people were treated as property and were bought and sold as commodities, with bills of sale and receipts exchanged during transactions. The domestic trade was lucrative, and the economic incentives were significant, with individual slaves being sold for thousands of dollars.
Additionally, the domestic slave trade was facilitated by the transportation infrastructure of the time, including ships and vessels that operated within U.S. waters. The U.S. Navy intercepted ships like the Mary during the Civil War, confiscating receipts and other evidence of slave sales. These records provide valuable insights into the domestic slave trade during this period.
The Constitution's impact on the domestic slave trade was limited, and it took further legislative action, social movements, and cultural shifts to address the practice. The moral and ethical tensions between slavery and the ideals of freedom and equality in the Declaration of Independence were stark. The domestic slave trade persisted despite these contradictions, highlighting the complexity and challenges of eradicating a deeply entrenched system of human exploitation.
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Frequently asked questions
Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution stated that Congress could not prohibit the importation of slaves before 1808.
The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for 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 Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves of 1807 was passed by Congress, which took effect on January 1, 1808. This legislation was promoted by President Thomas Jefferson, who called for its enactment in his 1806 State of the Union Address.
No, the 1808 Act imposed heavy penalties on international traders but did not end slavery itself nor the domestic sale of slaves. In fact, the domestic trade in slaves persisted between ports within the United States.
The 1808 Act reflected the force of the general trend toward abolishing the international slave trade. By the time the Act was passed, individual states like Virginia had already prohibited or restricted the slave trade, and international pressure was mounting on the United States to curb the practice.
