Eleanor Finch
The US Constitution's relationship with slavery is a highly contested topic. The Constitution, drafted in 1787, does not use the word slavery in its provisions, despite slavery being a major component of the economy and society in the United States at the time. The 'Importation of Persons Clause' in Article 1, Section 9, prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of persons for 20 years, referring to the Atlantic slave trade. While some members of the Constitutional Convention objected to slavery, the final document laid the foundation for tragic events, including the Civil War, and institutionalized slavery by protecting the rights of white men and excluding a majority of Americans. The 13th Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery in the United States, but the legacy of slavery and racial inequality persists.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The Constitution's stance on slavery | The Constitution that protected slavery for three generations, until a war and a constitutional amendment changed the game. |
| The Founding Fathers' views on slavery | Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers criticized the institution of slavery. |
| The Three-Fifths Compromise | The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's enslaved population when apportioning representation, increasing the political power of former slave-holding states. |
| The Slave Trade Clause | Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" where state governments allowed it, until 20 years after the Constitution took effect. |
| The Fugitive Slave Clause | The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. |
| The Thirteenth Amendment | The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and has been used to strike down race-based discrimination and empower Congress to make laws against modern slavery. |
| Lincoln's views on slavery | Abraham Lincoln believed that the Constitution put slavery "in the course of ultimate extinction." |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The Constitution's failure to address slavery
The Constitution included several clauses that implicitly recognised and protected slavery. The most notable was the Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3), which provided that three-fifths of each state's enslaved population was to be counted for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. This gave the slave-holding Southern states extra representation and votes, institutionalising slavery and giving it constitutional protection.
The Framers of the Constitution were divided on the morality of slavery, with some voicing objections. However, they ultimately made a compromise to achieve their goal of a stronger Union. The Southern states threatened to walk out if slavery was threatened, and so the Framers avoided directly addressing it, fearing separate confederacies of free and slave states. This compromise has been criticised as putting economic interests and Union above moral principles and the rights of enslaved people.
The failure to address slavery in the Constitution had tragic consequences, as noted by Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice. He described the document as "'defective from the start' because it laid the foundation for the tragic events that followed, including the Civil War and the continued denial of rights and equality for African Americans.
It was not until the 13th Amendment in 1865 that slavery was finally abolished in the United States. This Amendment, along with the 14th and 15th Amendments, greatly expanded civil rights and sealed back together the cracks in the nation's foundation caused by slavery.
The Abortion Debate: Is It in the Constitution?
You may want to see also
The Founding Fathers' views on slavery
Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the words "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence, has been scrutinized for owning hundreds of slaves throughout his life. He believed slavery to be a political and moral evil and wished for its abolition, but he never freed his slaves. He also may have fathered children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings.
Some Founding Fathers were morally opposed to slavery and attempted to end it in certain colonies. Gouverneur Morris, for example, called slavery a "nefarious institution" and "the curse of heaven on the states where it prevailed." John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Charles Carroll are other examples of Founding Fathers who did not own slaves and expressed anti-slavery sentiments.
However, the Founding Fathers' commitment to private property rights, limited government, and sectional harmony prevented them from taking bold action against slavery. The Southern Founders, in particular, had deep-seated racial prejudice and a significant investment in slave-based agriculture, making them reluctant to support abolition. They also steered clear of organized anti-slavery activities to maintain their legitimacy among slaveholding constituents.
The Founding Fathers drafted constitutional clauses that acknowledged regional differences over slavery while requiring compromises. They granted slave-holding states certain rights, such as counting three-fifths of their slave population for congressional representation, but also increased their federal tax burden. The Founders' views on slavery were influenced by the belief that it was a longstanding institution introduced to America by the British, and they contributed to a shift in national attitude towards recognizing slavery as an evil that needed to be addressed.
Understanding Emotional Distress Claims in Florida: What Touches?
You may want to see also
The economic impact of slavery
Slavery was a major driver of economic growth and development in the United States before the Civil War. With cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and sugarcane, the Southern states became the economic engine of the burgeoning nation. The Southern economy was so dependent on slavery that it could not be dislodged, even by the belief that all men were created equal.
The economic trajectory and development of capitalism in the United States are linked to the brutal institution of slavery. The work of enslaved people was a significant driver of growth, not just in the South but also for the national economy as a whole. By the start of the Civil War, the South was producing 75% of the world's cotton, and slavery had made the region the fourth richest in the world. Enslaved workers represented Southern planters' most significant investment and the bulk of their wealth.
The impact of slavery on economic growth was also felt at the regional level. The increase in commodity output per enslaved worker drove per capita growth in the South Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central regions. However, this also led to rising inequality within Southern states, as the economic position of non-slaveholding White Southerners declined between 1839 and 1859.
While slavery had a significant economic impact, conventional economic analysis often overlooks the costs imposed upon the people who were enslaved. Emancipation may have generated the largest economic gains in US history by reducing the substantial costs imposed by slavery. Researchers estimate that slavery cost the aggregate economy at least $40 per year for each enslaved person, with the total gain from emancipation equivalent to about 4-35% of US GDP in 1860.
Child Abandonment: Custody Laws in Ohio
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The 13th Amendment
The issue of slavery was a contentious topic during the drafting of the Constitution. While some Founding Fathers criticized slavery, others defended it for economic reasons. The Framers ultimately made a compromise, seeking to achieve their highest goal of a stronger Union. This compromise allowed slavery to persist and even strengthened it, but it also created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish it.
Exploring the USS Constitution: What's Original?
You may want to see also
The Fugitive Slave Clause
> "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 Clause does not use the words "slave" or "slavery", but it is understood that a "Person held to Service or Labour" refers to a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery except as a punishment for criminal acts, has rendered the Clause mostly irrelevant.
In the 19th century, resistance to the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Clause grew in the North, with several Northern states enacting "personal liberty laws" to protect their Black residents. This resistance contributed to the polarisation of public opinion and the deepening divide between the North and the South in the lead-up to the Civil War.
NASAA Rules: Understanding Investment Advisers' Custody Compliance
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, have stated that the US Constitution's biggest flaw is its protection of the institution of slavery.
The Founding Fathers criticised the institution of slavery. For example, James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution", attacked slavery early in the Convention, stating, "We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man".
The US Constitution implicitly recognised slavery in provisions such as the Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3). This provided that three-fifths of each state's enslaved population ("other persons") were to be added to its free population for the purposes of apportioning seats in the United States House of Representatives, its number of electoral votes, and direct taxes among the states.
