Malcolm Rivera
The Three-Fifths Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the 1808 ban on the importation of slaves were three compromises on slavery that were added to the US Constitution. The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation, giving Southern states with large slave populations extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and the 1808 ban prohibited the federal government from restricting the importation of slaves for 20 years after the Constitution took effect. These compromises reflected the tension between Northern and Southern states over slavery and were essential to the formation of the Union, but they also laid the foundation for future conflicts, including the Civil War.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Three-Fifths Compromise | A formula for calculating a state's population, counting three-fifths of slaves for representation and taxation purposes |
| Fugitive Slave Clause | Escaped slaves must be returned to their owners |
| Slave Trade Clause | A 20-year ban on restrictions to the Atlantic slave trade, in exchange for the national government's power to make laws benefiting shipbuilders |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Compromise
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. A compromise was struck to resolve this impasse. 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 Northern states.
In 1868, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the Three-Fifths Compromise.
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Fugitive Slave Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, was a part of the United States Constitution. It was Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which stated that a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state must be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped.
The clause was enacted to ensure that slaveholders had the right to reclaim enslaved people who had escaped to another state. The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery except as a punishment for criminal acts, has since rendered the clause mostly irrelevant. The exact wording of the Fugitive Slave Clause is as follows:
> 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.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was added to the Constitution as a compromise to appease southern delegates, who agreed to a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade in exchange. The clause was controversial and led to increased Northern resistance in the 19th century, with several Northern states enacting "personal liberty laws" to protect free Black residents from kidnapping. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the clause gave slave owners the right to seize and repossess their slaves in another state, and any state laws that penalised such seizures were deemed unconstitutional.
The Fugitive Slave Clause's vague wording has been the subject of debate among modern legal scholars, who argue that it was a political compromise that avoided overtly validating slavery at the federal level. The clause's ambiguity allowed both pro- and anti-slavery factions to claim constitutional ground, reflecting the contradictions in the founding document itself.
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Banning the slave trade
The issue of banning the slave trade was a contentious topic during the drafting of the US Constitution in 1787. At the time, slavery was deeply entrenched in the economic and social fabric of the United States, particularly in the Southern states. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were faced with the challenge of reconciling the contradiction between the notion of "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence and the existence of slavery.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was one of the compromises reached during the Constitutional Convention to address the issue of slavery. This compromise provided a formula for calculating a state's population for purposes of representation and taxation. According to this compromise, three-fifths of "all other persons" (i.e., slaves) would be counted, even though they did not have voting rights. This gave the Southern states, with their large slave populations, additional representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
Another compromise related to the slave trade was the inclusion of a provision banning the importation of slaves starting in 1808. This compromise was reached in exchange for a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade. Southern delegates, particularly those from South Carolina and Georgia, threatened that their states would not join the Union if there were restrictions imposed on the slave trade. This compromise allowed Congress to make laws requiring the use of American ships in commerce, benefiting shipbuilders and maritime workers in the Northeast.
The issue of banning the slave trade was further complicated by the moral qualms and political interests of the delegates. Some delegates, such as Luther Martin of Maryland, spoke out against the slave trade, arguing that it was inconsistent with the principles of the American Revolution and dishonorable to the American character. However, others recognized the economic importance of slavery to the Southern states and sought to protect it through compromises. 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 compromises reached during the Constitutional Convention reflected the tension between the Northern and Southern states and the unsustainable nature of the compromise became evident with the outbreak of the Civil War. While the Constitution did not explicitly use the word "slavery", it included provisions, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise and the ban on the importation of slaves starting in 1808, that addressed the issue of slavery and the slave trade. These compromises were essential to the formation of the Union, but they also laid the foundation for future conflicts over slavery and the eventual abolition of the institution.
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The Missouri Compromise
The legislation, passed by Congress on March 3, 1820, and signed by President James Monroe on March 6, 1820, also banned slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands located north of the 36°30' parallel, which was the southern border of Missouri. This ban on slavery above the 36°30' latitude line in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory held for 34 years until it was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
The repeal of the Missouri Compromise by the Kansas-Nebraska Act sparked violence between pro- and anti-slavery settlers in "Bleeding Kansas", further delaying Kansas' admission to the Union. The controversy surrounding the repeal and the Supreme Court's ruling in 1857 that the compromise was unconstitutional contributed to the increasing tensions over slavery and the eventual outbreak of the American Civil War.
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The Civil War
One of the key compromises was the Three-Fifths Compromise, which provided a formula for calculating a state's population. According to this compromise, three-fifths of "all other persons" (i.e., slaves) would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation. This gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
Another compromise was the inclusion of a provision to ban the importation of slaves starting in 1808. This was part of the "'Importation of Persons' Clause" in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which did not specifically mention "slaves" but was understood to refer to the importation of enslaved African persons. This compromise was made in exchange for a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade, during which time the federal government could make laws requiring American ships to be used in all commerce, benefiting the northeast region.
Additionally, the Constitution included a fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. This clause was later strengthened by additional fugitive slave laws passed in the 19th century, but it was not enforced in practice after 1861 when General Benjamin Butler refused to return fugitives to slavery in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
While these compromises temporarily averted a crisis, they ultimately laid the foundation for the Civil War. The issue of slavery continued to divide the nation, and the compromises made during the Constitutional Convention were not enough to prevent the eventual conflict between the North and the South.
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Frequently asked questions
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a formula for calculating a state's population. Three-fifths of "all other persons" (i.e., slaves) would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation.
The Fugitive Slave Clause required escaped slaves to be returned to their owners. It also denied escaped slaves the right to a jury trial and other constitutional rights.
Southern delegates agreed to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels. In exchange, there would be no restriction on the slave trade for 20 years.
The Compromise of 1850 included a measure banning the slave trade within the District of Columbia, as well as a new and more forceful Fugitive Slave Law.
The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, banned slavery. In 1868, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 (the Three-Fifths Compromise) and explicitly repealed it.
