Isabella Carter
The issue of slavery was a highly contentious topic during the drafting of the US Constitution, with around half of the delegates owning slaves and others harbouring anti-slavery sentiments. The Constitution protected slavery through a series of compromises, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation and taxation purposes, and a 20-year ban on restrictions of the Atlantic slave trade. These compromises aimed to balance the interests of pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions, but they ultimately failed to resolve the conflict, leading to further compromises and eventually, the Civil War. The framers of the Constitution sidestepped the issue, recognising that they were not addressing the moral dilemma posed by slavery, and their concessions on slavery were made to gain support for a strong central government.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Compromise on the issue of foreign trade | Importation of enslaved Africans |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | Three-fifths of a state's slave population counted for representation and taxation |
| Fugitive slave clause | Runaway slaves to be returned to their owners |
| Banned slavery in the Louisiana Territory | Banned slavery north of the 36° 30' parallel, except within Missouri |
| Compromise of 1850 | Banned the slave trade, but not slavery, in the District of Columbia |
| Kansas-Nebraska Act | Kansas and Nebraska residents to vote on allowing slavery, leading to violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery advocates |
| Constitutional Compromise | Protected the institution of slavery without using the word "slave" |
| Slave Trade Clause | Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" |
| Transatlantic Slave Trade | South Carolina and Georgia delegates threatened to not join the union if there were restrictions |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Compromise
In 1868, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment superseded this clause and explicitly repealed the Three-Fifths Compromise.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 Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It required that escaped slaves found in free states be caught and returned to their masters. The Act also denied freed slaves the right to a jury trial and other constitutional rights.
The clause was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and was included in the Constitution alongside a provision banning the importation of slaves from 1808. The Fugitive Slave Clause was unanimously approved by the Convention without debate. However, it was controversial and was one of a number of compromises between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. 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 exact wording of the clause was: "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 wording was deliberately vague, never using the words "slave" or "slavery", and this has been interpreted in different ways by historians and legal scholars. Historian Donald Fehrenbacher believes that the Constitution intended to make it clear that slavery existed only under state law, not federal law. The ambiguity allowed both pro- and anti-slavery factions to claim constitutional ground, reflecting deeper contradictions in the founding document itself.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was enforced by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, with further legislation in 1850 strengthening its provisions. Northern resistance to the Clause increased in the 19th century, with several Northern states enacting "personal liberty laws" to protect free Black residents from kidnapping and provide safeguards for accused fugitives. The Supreme Court reversed these attempts to circumvent the Clause, reinforcing federal supremacy but further polarizing public opinion.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was eventually rendered mostly irrelevant by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime".
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Compromise on foreign trade
The issue of foreign trade was a contentious topic during the Constitutional Convention, with the importation of enslaved Africans being the most fraught part of the debate. The compromise reached on this issue reflected a balance between Northern and Southern states and was essential to the formation of the Union.
The Southern states, including South Carolina and Georgia, threatened to not join the Union if there were restrictions imposed on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. They argued that the slave trade was essential to their economy and that it should be subject to federal regulation, as any slave revolts would affect the entire nation. On the other hand, delegates like Luther Martin from Maryland, a slaveholder himself, argued that the slave trade was inconsistent with the principles of the American Revolution and dishonorable to the American character.
The compromise reached on August 25, 1787, known as the Slave Trade Clause or the "Importation of Persons Clause", prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" into states that allowed slavery for twenty years after the Constitution took effect. This clause, found in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution, was unanimously supported by the state delegations. It was a temporary solution, with the understanding that after twenty years, the federal government would have the power to regulate the slave trade.
The compromise on foreign trade was a complex and contentious issue, reflecting the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by the delegates during the Constitutional Convention. While it was a necessary step towards forming a united nation, it also highlighted the deep tensions between the practice of slavery and the ideals of liberty and equality espoused in the Declaration of Independence.
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The Missouri Compromise
The compromise was passed by Congress on March 3, 1820, and signed into law by President James Monroe on March 6, 1820. The admission of Missouri as a slave state was controversial, with many northerners objecting on moral grounds. The compromise was an attempt to prevent the nation from splitting along sectarian lines, but it ultimately delayed the Civil War and contributed to its causes.
Senator Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois added a compromise provision that excluded slavery from the remaining lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel. Speaker of the House Henry Clay played a crucial role in breaking the deadlock, pressuring some southerners to accept the Thomas proviso while convincing northerners to support Missouri's admission as a slave state.
Despite the Compromise, the issue of slavery continued to divide the nation. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, and the Supreme Court's Dred Scott v. Sandford decision in 1857 declared it unconstitutional. The Missouri Compromise, while a temporary solution, highlighted the deep rift between the North and the South, setting the stage for the Civil War.
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The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Douglas introduced the bill with the intention of opening up new lands for development and facilitating the construction of a transcontinental railroad. The bill proposed to organise the vast territory "with or without slavery, as their constitutions may prescribe", a policy known as "'popular sovereignty'". This contradicted the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had outlawed slavery above the 36°30' parallel in the Louisiana territories, and left the question of slavery open to the settlers of the new territories.
The Act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, stoking national tensions over slavery and contributing to a series of violent, armed conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas". The division between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces caused by the Act destroyed the remnants of the Whig Party, leading to the creation of the new Republican Party.
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Frequently asked questions
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a formula for calculating a state's population, in which 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.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was a provision requiring escaped slaves found in free states to be caught and returned to their masters. It also denied these slaves the right to a jury trial and other constitutional rights.
In exchange for a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade, southern delegates agreed to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels.
While the Constitution never uses the word "slavery", it is believed that the framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. The Constitution also included provisions to protect the institution of slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Fugitive Slave Clause.
