Omar Bennett
The original United States Constitution did not contain the words slave or slavery within its text, but it did deal directly with American slavery in at least five of its provisions and indirectly protected the institution elsewhere in the document. The Constitution's framers consciously avoided the word slave, recognizing that it would sully the document, and instead referred to slaves as [persons]. The Constitution's Fugitive Slave Clause and Three-Fifths Clause have been interpreted as pro-slavery, but others argue that there was also an anti-slavery Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Use of the word "slave" | The word "slave" was not used in the Constitution. |
| Framers' beliefs about slavery | Many framers believed slavery was morally wrong and would die out. |
| Framers' reasons for avoiding the word "slave" | Framers did not want a permanent moral stain on the document. |
| Framers' views on the role of slavery in the Constitution | Some framers believed concessions on slavery were necessary to gain support for a strong central government. |
| Number of framers who owned slaves | About 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. |
| Specific clauses related to slavery | Three-Fifths Clause, ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years, Fugitive Slave Clause, and slave insurrections. |
| Framers' views on the slave trade | Some framers believed the slave trade should be subject to federal regulation, while others believed it should be left to the states. |
| Framers' intentions regarding slavery | The framers consciously avoided the word "slave," recognizing that it would sully the document. |
| Protection of the slave trade | The slave trade was protected until 1808, after which Congress abolished it. |
| Framers' views on slavery and the Constitution | The framers believed slavery contradicted the natural rights of all and denied the idea of consent in a republic. |
| Framers' criticism of slavery | The framers criticized the institution of slavery and worked to build a constitutional republic of liberty that equally protected the rights of all Americans. |
| Abolition of slavery | Slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives in 1864 and 1865, respectively, and ratified in 1865. |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause
The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which stated: "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 [i.e. slaves]." The compromise was reached during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which addressed the apportionment of the House of Representatives and the number of electoral votes each state would have based on its population.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, which provided that "representatives shall be apportioned... counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." The original Constitution did not contain the words "slave" or "slavery" within its text, and the framers consciously avoided using these words, believing that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out. Instead, they referred to slaves as "persons."
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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 had a significant impact on Black communities in the North, enabling the kidnapping of free African Americans who were then illegally enslaved. This highlighted the systemic abuse enabled by the clause. Despite this, there was increasing Northern resistance to the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Clause in the 19th century, with several Northern states enacting "personal liberty laws" to protect their Black residents.
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The Slave Trade Clause
The specific wording of the Slave Trade Clause is as follows: "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight..." The use of the phrase "Migration and Importation of such Persons" implies the slave trade, as referring to people as imports is indicative of slavery.
While the Constitution did not explicitly use the word "slave," it recognised and protected the institution of slavery. This contradiction laid the foundation for future conflicts and controversies, with some arguing that the Constitution was pro-slavery, while others contended that it laid the groundwork for its eventual abolition. The Slave Trade Clause, with its protection of the slave trade until 1808, was a key element in this ongoing debate about the Constitution's true stance on slavery.
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Abolitionist views
The Abolitionist movement in the United States was a reaction to the institution of slavery, which was a contentious issue during the formation of the country. The Constitution, which was ratified in 1787, included several clauses that addressed slavery without directly mentioning the word "slave" or "slavery". This was due to the embarrassment and moral qualms that the framers of the Constitution felt about the institution. Instead, slaves were referred to as “persons".
One of the most well-known clauses related to slavery in the Constitution is the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of each state's slave population when apportioning representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. This gave the Southern states, which had a larger slave population, extra representation and votes. The Constitution also included the Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and prohibited Congress from ending the slave trade for 20 years.
Abolitionists, such as William Lloyd Garrison, criticised the Constitution for its concessions to slavery. Garrison famously burned a copy of the document in 1854, calling it "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell". Abolitionists also used legal strategies to challenge slavery, such as in the case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) and Kentucky v. Dennison (1861), which dealt with the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Clause.
The issue of slavery became even more contentious in the lead-up to the American Civil War. In 1861, the Corwin Amendment was proposed, which would have shielded slavery from constitutional amendment or interference by Congress. However, it was never ratified. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, which proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the Confederate states. This was followed by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, which officially abolished slavery in the United States.
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The Founding Fathers' views
Some argue that the Founding Fathers were embarrassed by the institution of slavery and believed it was morally wrong. They hoped that slavery would eventually disappear and did not want to permanently stain the Constitution with its mention. This is evident in their use of terms like "persons" instead of "slaves" and their avoidance of explicit references to slavery. The inclusion of the fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and the three-fifths clause, which gave Southern states more representation based on their slave populations, can be interpreted as concessions to maintain the Union. Many of the Founding Fathers, including some who owned slaves, had moral qualms about slavery and were members of anti-slavery societies. They viewed slavery as a contradiction to the natural rights of all individuals and the principles of the republic.
On the other hand, critics argue that the Founding Fathers' actions fell short of their ideals. The Constitution implicitly recognized slavery and protected the slave trade until 1808. The three-fifths compromise, for example, has been criticized as treating slaves as property, despite arguments that it acknowledged slaves as human beings. The Founding Fathers' compromises and concessions to preserve the Union have been seen as enabling the continuation of slavery. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, described the Constitution as "defective from the start" for leaving out a majority of Americans with the phrase "We the People."
The question of whether the Constitution was pro-slavery or anti-slavery has been a subject of debate throughout US history. While some argue that the Founding Fathers laid the foundation for future tragic events, others contend that they created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery. The interpretation of the Founding Fathers' views on slavery remains a complex and contentious issue in American history.
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Frequently asked questions
Slaves were referred to as "Persons" in the Constitution.
The word "slave" was consciously avoided in the Constitution, as the framers believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out. They did not want to permanently stain the document with the mention of slavery.
Yes, the Constitution implicitly protected slavery through provisions such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Slave Insurrection Clause.
No, the Constitution did not consider slaves as property. The Three-Fifths Compromise, which allocated seats in Congress and the number of people to be taxed, acknowledged slaves as human beings and not just property.
