Simone Lawson
The United States Constitution's stance on slavery has been a subject of debate for decades. The original Constitution did not contain the words slave or slavery but dealt directly with American slavery in at least five provisions, including the Three-Fifths Clause and the Fugitive Slave Clause, and indirectly protected the institution in other parts of the document. The Framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. The economic and political realities of slavery made substantive action impossible during the Constitutional Convention, and the southern economy's reliance on slavery made it politically impossible for the Framers to abolish the institution. The Constitution's protections of slavery are considered by many to be its biggest flaw.
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What You'll Learn
- The Constitution protected slavery and institutionalised it
- The Three-Fifths Clause gave the South extra representation
- The Fugitive Slave Clause required escaped slaves be returned
- The Slave Trade Clause prohibited banning the importation of slaves until 1808
- The Constitution was drafted for an agrarian slave society
The Constitution protected slavery and institutionalised it
The Constitution of the United States of America, ratified in 1787, has been criticised for protecting and institutionalising slavery. The document was drafted by the Founding Fathers, several of whom were slaveholders, and it has been argued that their economic and political interests influenced the content of the Constitution.
The Constitution included the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave Southern states, where slavery was pivotal to the economy, more power in the House and in the Electoral College. The Slave Trade Clause prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808, and Article 5 prohibited this from being amended. The Fugitive Slave Clause required that an escaped slave be returned to their owner.
The Constitution's protection of slavery has been described as its biggest flaw. It has been argued that the Founding Fathers' decision to sidestep the issue of slavery in the Constitution, and their failure to include a bill of rights, laid the foundation for the tragic events that were to follow, including the Civil War and the racial inequalities that have persisted throughout American history.
However, it is important to note that there were also antislavery sentiments among the Founding Fathers, and the Constitution created a central government that was eventually powerful enough to abolish slavery. The issue of slavery was highly contentious, and the Constitution has been interpreted as both pro-slavery and anti-slavery.
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The Three-Fifths Clause gave the South extra representation
The Three-Fifths Clause, also known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, was a provision in the original US Constitution that counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards its total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states, where slavery was a significant part of the economy, more power in the House relative to the Northern states.
The Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Southern states wanted to count their entire slave population to increase their representation in Congress, while the Northern states and those opposed to slavery wanted to count only free persons. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise that allowed for the preservation of the union while also addressing the moral and systemic evils of slavery.
The Compromise effectively gave slaveholders enlarged powers in Southern legislatures and contributed to the secession of West Virginia from Virginia in 1863. It also had implications for the Electoral College, giving the South extra votes in presidential elections. The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US 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".
While the Compromise has been criticised as racist and a concession to slavery, some argue that it actually encouraged freedom by giving an increase in political power to free over slave states. The word "slave" was consciously avoided in the Constitution, recognising that it would sully the document. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. However, by sidestepping the issue of slavery, they laid the groundwork for future conflict.
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The Fugitive Slave Clause required escaped slaves be returned
The Fugitive Slave Clause, or the Fugitive Slave Act, was a law enacted in 1793 that required escaped slaves to be returned to their slave owners. The Act was written to enforce Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, which stated that slaves who escaped to free states without their enslavers' consent had to be returned. This law was in place for over 200 years and contributed to the growing polarization of the country over slavery, eventually leading to the founding of the Republican Party and the American Civil War.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was a controversial piece of legislation that caused tension between the North and the South. While some free states wanted to disregard the Act and protect escaped slaves, others supported the return of fugitive slaves to their owners. Southern politicians often blamed Northern abolitionists for encouraging slaves to escape, claiming that they were interfering with "Southern property rights." The Act was strengthened in 1850, which further exacerbated the divide between the North and the South.
The Fugitive Slave Act required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to their slave owners and that officials and citizens of free states cooperate in this process. Marshals and deputy marshals were duty-bound to execute warrants for the arrest of fugitive slaves and could be fined or prosecuted if they refused to comply. Slave owners or their agents could pursue and reclaim their escaped slaves by obtaining a warrant or by seizing and arresting the fugitive directly.
The Act also made it illegal to obstruct or hinder the capture of a fugitive slave. Anyone who aided or attempted to rescue a fugitive slave was subject to legal consequences. If a slave escaped from the custody of a marshal or deputy marshal, that official was liable and could be prosecuted for the full value of the slave's service or labor. To ensure the return of fugitive slaves, officers were authorized to employ as many people as necessary to overcome any resistance and could retain their assistance for as long as needed.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and its later iterations highlight the complex and contentious nature of slavery in the United States and the challenges faced in addressing it. While some Founding Fathers and statesmen criticized slavery and sought to restrict the slave trade, others defended it as a necessary component of the economy. The Fugitive Slave Clause and the broader debate surrounding slavery laid the foundation for future conflicts and contributed to the eventual outbreak of the American Civil War.
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The Slave Trade Clause prohibited banning the importation of slaves until 1808
The Slave Trade Clause, or Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, is one of the original provisions in the US Constitution related to slavery. Notably, the word "slave" is absent from the Constitution, with the document instead referring to “persons". The Clause prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of "such persons" until 20 years after the Constitution came into effect, which was in 1808.
The Clause was a compromise between the Southern states, where slavery was central to the economy, and the Northern states, where abolition was either accomplished or contemplated. The Southern states threatened to refuse to join the Union if the federal government regulated the slave trade. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention needed to address the issue carefully to avoid derailing the convention.
The Clause was constitutionally inoperative for over 200 years, but it remains part of the Constitution and is thus still relevant to the discourse on the morality and profitability of the international trade in human beings. The framers of the Constitution believed that the concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of the Southern delegates for a strong central government. Many of the framers had moral qualms about slavery, and some became members of anti-slavery societies.
In the years leading up to the enactment of the Slave Trade Clause in 1808, Congress passed statutes regulating the slave trade by US ships, and other countries also passed legislation restricting the practice. In 1794, Congress ended the legality of American ships participating in the slave trade. In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson called for the upcoming expiration of the Slave Trade Clause in his annual message to Congress. The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves was passed in 1807 and took effect on January 1, 1808. However, this did not end the domestic sale of slaves, and slaves continued to be smuggled into the United States.
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The Constitution was drafted for an agrarian slave society
The US Constitution was drafted in 1787, a time when slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States. It was also a time when the nation was largely agrarian. The Constitution, therefore, was drafted for an agrarian slave society.
The Constitution's biggest flaw, according to many, was its protection of the institution of slavery. There were several clauses in the original Constitution that related to slavery, though the word "slave" was consciously avoided. The Fugitive Slave Clause, for example, required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. The Three-Fifths Clause 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 Importation of Persons Clause prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" (i.e. enslaved African persons) until 20 years after the Constitution took effect.
The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, southern states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. This sidestepping of the slavery issue, however, left the seeds for future conflict.
Many of the framers harbored moral qualms about slavery. Some, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies. Several founders launched critiques of the slave trade for violating natural rights. At the Constitutional Convention, Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, said that the slave trade was contrary to America's republican ideals and should be subject to federal regulation. Another delegate, George Mason, who owned hundreds of slaves, spoke out against slavery, stating that "'every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of Heaven on a country.'"
While the Constitution protected slavery, it also created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish the institution.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Constitution protected the institution of slavery. Article 1, Section 9, prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808, and Article 5 prohibited this from being amended. Article 1, Section 2, also known as the Three-Fifths Clause, counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards that state's total population for representation in Congress, giving Southern states more power in the House.
No, the words "slave" or "slavery" were not mentioned in the original United States Constitution. However, it dealt directly with American slavery in at least five of its provisions and indirectly protected the institution in other parts of the document.
Many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves, but some also had moral qualms about slavery. While no delegates to the Constitutional Convention defended the morality of slavery, they believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
Yes, racial inequalities that can be traced back to slavery have persisted throughout American history. The Constitution's protection of slavery and its failure to protect the rights of all Americans contributed to these inequalities.
This is a matter of ongoing debate. While some argue that the Constitution was pro-slavery, others contend that it had anti-slavery sentiments. The Constitution's complex language and the compromises made during its drafting have led to differing interpretations over time.
