Simone Lawson
The US Constitution, which came into effect in 1787, has been the subject of controversy regarding its stance on slavery. While it does not explicitly use the word slave or slavery, it includes several provisions that deal with unfree persons. The Three-Fifths Compromise, for instance, allocated representation and taxation based on three-fifths of all other Persons, implying that slaves were considered less than fully human and giving greater power to the southern states. The Importation Clause, meanwhile, prevented Congress from banning the slave trade for 20 years. The 13th Amendment, passed in 1865, finally abolished slavery in the US, though it included an exception for those duly convicted of crimes, which has had a lasting impact on the mass incarceration of African Americans.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The Constitution's authors leave out their vital distinction between person and property | The absence of slavery in the Constitution is one of the great paradoxes of the Founding Era |
| The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution | The framers consciously avoided the word, recognizing that it would sully the document |
| The Three-Fifths Clause | Gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College |
| The Three-Fifths Clause | Meant that slaves were considered less than fully human |
| The Three-Fifths Clause | Encouraged freedom because it gave “an increase of ‘two-fifths’ of political power to free over slave States |
| The Importation Clause | Congress could not ban the slave trade for 20 years |
| The Fugitive Slave Clause | Superseded by the 13th Amendment |
| The 13th Amendment | Officially abolished slavery in all states |
| The 13th Amendment | Race-based slavery is illegal unless the minority is found guilty of a crime |
| The 13th Amendment | Outlawed racial discrimination |
Explore related products
$31.97 $49.95
What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a result of a contentious debate during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The debate centred around how slaves should be counted when determining a state's total population, which would then decide the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the allocation of electoral votes, and the amount of taxes owed by each state. The slaveholding states advocated for counting all slaves as part of their population, while the free states wanted to exclude slaves from the count since they did not have voting rights.
The compromise that was struck counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards its total population. This had the effect of granting the Southern states more representation in the House of Representatives and, consequently, more electoral votes. This compromise was seen by some as a way to balance the power between the free and slave states. However, it also reinforced the notion that slaves were considered less than fully human, as they were allocated only a fraction of the value of a free person.
While the Three-Fifths Compromise was a temporary solution to a contentious issue, it was ultimately superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. This amendment ensured that the Constitution no longer included any provisions that could be interpreted as supporting slavery or diminishing the value of any person, regardless of their race or status.
Words Count: Exploring the Constitution's Length and Legacy
You may want to see also
The Importation Clause
Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution, also known as the Importation Clause, is one of the four clauses that have been used to argue that the Constitution is a pro-slavery document. The Importation Clause prevented Congress from banning the slave trade for 20 years.
The clause was the result of a bitter debate that broke out on August 21, 1787, over a South Carolina proposal to prohibit the federal government from regulating the Atlantic slave trade. Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, argued that the slave trade should be subject to federal regulation since the entire nation would be responsible for suppressing slave revolts. He also considered the slave trade contrary to America's republican ideals, stating:
> It is inconsistent with the principles of the Revolution ... and dishonorable to the American character to have such a feature in the constitution.
John Rutledge of South Carolina, however, responded forcefully, insisting that:
> Religion and humanity have nothing to do with this question ... [U]nless regulation of the slave trade was left to the states, the southern-most states shall not be parties to the union.
The Import-Export Clause, which falls under Article I, Section 10, Clause 5 of the US Constitution, is distinct from the Importation Clause. The Import-Export Clause prevents states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws. It also secures for the federal government the revenues from all tariffs on imports and exports.
The Commerce Clause: Exploring Its Constitutional Significance
You may want to see also
The Thirteenth Amendment
The full text of the Thirteenth Amendment is as follows:
> "Section 1. 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.
> Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
The 13th Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War. It was preceded by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1, 1863, and declared that all persons held as slaves within any state in rebellion against the United States were free. However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation since it only applied to areas of the Confederacy currently in rebellion and not to the "border states" that remained in the Union.
The 13th Amendment was the first constitutional amendment dealing exclusively with African American freedom and the first of two ratified amendments to be signed by a President. It was also the first step towards expanding liberty and equality across the United States, with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 also contributing to the spread of freedom.
The Power to Pardon: Exploring Constitutional Boundaries
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Fugitive Slave Act
The US Constitution did not initially expressly use the words "slave" or "slavery" but included several provisions that protected and perpetuated slavery. The Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, allocated Congressional representation based on "the whole Number of free Persons" and "three-fifths of all other Persons", giving greater power to the southern states. The Importation Clause, or Article I, Section 9, prevented Congress from banning the slave trade for 20 years. These clauses, along with others, have been used to indict the Constitution as a pro-slavery document.
The Constitution's Citizenship Clause: Defining American Identity
You may want to see also
The Civil War
The US Constitution, which came into force in 1787, did not contain the word "slave" or "slavery". However, it included several provisions that impacted enslaved people. The Three-Fifths Compromise, for instance, allocated Congressional representation based on "the whole Number of free Persons" and "three-fifths of all other Persons". This gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
The Constitution also included the Importation Clause, which prohibited Congress from banning the slave trade for 20 years. This was part of a compromise to address the states' fear of an imbalance of power in Congress. The Importation Clause was a highly contested issue during the framing of the Constitution, with some arguing that the slave trade should be subject to federal regulation, and others responding that "religion and humanity have nothing to do with this question".
In the mid-19th century, the conflict between slaveholding and free states intensified. The Fugitive Slave Act was tightened for Northern states in exchange for California's admission as a free state. This, along with other factors, led to South Carolina's secession in 1860, followed by other Southern states, and the Civil War began.
During the Civil War, Congress enacted the Confiscation Acts, which freed enslaved people who came within Union lines and had been under Confederate masters. These acts were largely ineffective, and President Lincoln was reluctant to enforce them due to concerns that they would cause border states to secede. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued an executive order changing the status of all slaves in Southern territory to "free".
On April 8, 1864, the Senate passed an amendment to abolish slavery, and on January 31, 1865, the House followed suit. The 13th Amendment, which officially abolished slavery in all states, was adopted before the end of 1865. However, some Black Americans continued to be subjected to involuntary labor, and the 13th Amendment laid the foundation for a deeply entrenched system of African American incarceration and other racially biased policies.
Federalism: Intentional or Unintentional Part of the US Constitution?
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in 1865, abolished slavery in the United States. It states that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime... shall exist within the United States".
The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Three-Fifths Clause, was a part of the US Constitution that allocated Congressional representation based on "the whole number of free persons" and "three-fifths of all other persons". This clause gave the Southern states extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
Yes, the US Constitution included several provisions that protected slavery, even though the word "slave" was consciously avoided in the document. One example is the Importation Clause, which prevented Congress from banning the slave trade for 20 years.
The US Constitution created a central government that was powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery. During and after the Civil War, Americans were able to end slavery constitutionally through measures such as the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.
