Malcolm Rivera
The US Constitution, despite being a document that laid the foundation for a more perfect union, did not resolve the conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. The three compromises on slavery in the Constitution were the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the 20-year ban on restricting the Atlantic slave trade. The Three-Fifths Compromise provided a formula for calculating a state's population, counting three-fifths of slaves for representation and taxation purposes. The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. In exchange for a 20-year ban on restrictions of the slave trade, southern delegates agreed to remove a clause restricting the national government's power. These compromises, while not using the word slave, protected the institution of slavery and its consequences, leading to tragic events in the future.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To calculate a state's population |
| Proposal | By delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney |
| Formula | Three-fifths of "all other persons" (i.e., slaves) would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation |
| Result | Reduced representation of slave states compared to free states; improved position for the North |
| Fugitive Slave Clause | Enslaved people who ran away and sought freedom had to be returned to their enslavers, enforced by the federal government |
| Ban on Restrictions | A 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade |
| Inducement | Tie to taxation in the same ratio, reducing the tax burden on slave states |
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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 they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, as those slaves had no voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney. The Convention unanimously accepted the principle that representation in the House of Representatives would be proportional to the relative state populations. However, it initially rejected Pinckney's proposal regarding the apportionment of the black population.
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. This effectively gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the North. By including three-fifths of slaves in the legislative apportionment, the Three-Fifths Compromise provided additional representation in the House of Representatives for slave states compared to free states. This additional representation was based on the assumption that representation should be considered in relation to the non-slave population.
In 1868, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the Three-Fifths Compromise. This amendment provided for the apportionment of representatives by counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding untaxed Indigenous people.
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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 a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state to be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped.
The clause was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It stated:
> 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 enforced by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, with the enforcement provisions strengthened as part of the Compromise of 1850. Under the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fugitive Slave Clause, the owner of an enslaved person had the same right to seize and repossess them in another state as the local laws of their own state granted to them.
The clause's wording was vague, and modern legal scholars debate whether it conferred constitutional legitimacy on slavery. Some argue that its ambiguity was a political compromise that avoided overtly validating slavery at the federal level, while others contend it functionally entrenched slaveholder power. The Fugitive Slave Clause was mostly rendered irrelevant by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime".
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20-year ban on restrictions to the Atlantic slave trade
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a highly contested issue during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, where the founding fathers debated the role of slavery in the United States. The controversy over the Atlantic slave trade was settled by a compromise: a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade. This meant that for 20 years, the slave trade could not be outlawed. In exchange, southern delegates agreed to remove a clause that restricted the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels, benefiting northeastern shipbuilders and sailors.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney. It provided a formula for calculating a state's population, where three-fifths of "all other persons" (i.e., slaves) would be counted for representation and taxation purposes. This compromise reduced the representation of slave states in the House of Representatives compared to free states. It was seen as a concession to the southern states, as it tied representation to taxation, reducing the tax burden on slave states.
The compromise was reached after contentious debates between northern and southern delegates. Northern delegates argued that only voters should be accounted for in representation, while southern delegates countered that slaves should be included in the population count, despite not having voting rights. The southern delegates, many of whom were slave owners, believed that the slave trade was essential to their economy and threatened to secede from the Union if it was restricted.
During the debates, Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder himself, spoke out against the slave trade, calling it inconsistent with America's republican ideals and dishonorable to the American character. George Mason, a Virginia delegate who also owned slaves, agreed, saying, "Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of heaven on a country." However, John Rutledge of South Carolina disagreed and insisted that religion and humanity had nothing to do with the question.
The 20-year ban on restrictions to the Atlantic slave trade was a temporary solution to a complex and morally fraught issue. While it allowed for the creation of a central government, it also delayed the resolution of the slavery debate, which would eventually lead to the Civil War. The Three-Fifths Compromise and other concessions to slavery in the Constitution were later criticised by the first African American Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall, as "defective from the start".
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Connecticut Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or the Sherman Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It was proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut and it defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
The Compromise retained the bicameral legislature, as proposed by Roger Sherman, with proportional representation of the states in the lower house, or House of Representatives. It also required the upper house, or Senate, to be weighted equally among the states, with each state having two members. This was a compromise between the Virginia Plan, which favoured larger states and called for a bicameral legislature with representation based on population, and the New Jersey Plan, which favoured smaller states and called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation.
The Connecticut Compromise was a pivotal moment in American history, demonstrating the power of compromise and diplomacy. It led to the creation of a government that has lasted for over 200 years and has become a beacon of democracy and freedom worldwide. The compromise allowed for the collective acceptance of a viable process for the selection of legislative representation by each individual state, which was crucial for the ratification of the Constitution.
The Connecticut Compromise also proposed a three-fifths compromise, in which all non-citizens would be counted as 60% of the population of their respective host state. This was because slavery was a major issue in the final agreement to ratify the Constitution, with Southern states adamant about preserving slavery, while Northern states were opposed to its ideology.
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Constitutional Convention of 1787
The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The convention, which took place in Philadelphia, was attended by 55 delegates, around 25 of whom owned slaves. The issue of slavery was fiercely debated during the convention, and the final document contained references and protections for enslavement.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina. The compromise stated that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted towards that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the North, as the count determined the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
The controversy over the Atlantic slave trade was also settled with a compromise. 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. On the same day, the convention also agreed to a fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
Another compromise was reached regarding the slave trade and taxation. A clause was passed that permitted taxation on the "importation of such persons", a euphemism for the slave trade. This clause was passed with unanimous support from the state delegations.
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 recognised that they were not dealing with slavery and that the issue would continue to fester and grow. By sidestepping the issue, they left the seeds for future conflict.
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