Slavery's First Appearance In The Constitution

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This was the first time slavery was explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, though the issue of slavery had been a source of contention since the Constitution's drafting in 1787. The framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the words slave and slavery, but the implications of slavery were present in the document, particularly in the three-fifths clause, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving Southern states more power.

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The three-fifths clause

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention regarding the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population. This count would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and the amount of money the states would pay in taxes. 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.

The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons." The "other Persons" referred to in this clause were slaves.

The compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney. It is important to note that the Three-Fifths Compromise did not refer to blacks or slaves as only three-fifths of a person. Instead, it counted three-fifths of a state's slave population toward that state's total population for representation and taxation purposes.

The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, some states would refuse to join the Union. By avoiding the issue of slavery, the framers sowed the seeds for future conflict. Many of the framers, including some slaveholders, had moral qualms about slavery. However, they believed that preserving the Union and forming a strong central government took precedence over the issue of slavery.

Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the Three-Fifths Compromise. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

The 13th Amendment

> "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Prior to the 13th Amendment, slavery was implicitly recognised in the original Constitution through provisions such as the Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3). This compromise allocated Congressional representation based on "the whole Number of free Persons" and "three-fifths of all other Persons", effectively counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a fully free citizen for the purposes of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives.

Fugitive-slave law

The word "slave" does not appear in the US Constitution, though slavery received important protections in the document. The Three-Fifths Clause, for example, counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.

The Fugitive Slave Law, or Fugitive Slave Act, was passed on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. It was drafted by Democratic Senator James M. Mason of Virginia in response to the weakening of the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. The 1850 Act was one of the most controversial elements of the Compromise and heightened Northern fears of a slave power conspiracy. It required that all escaped slaves be returned to their enslavers and that officials and citizens of free states cooperate in their capture. Law enforcement officials were required to arrest people suspected of escaping slavery on as little as a claimant's sworn testimony of ownership. Habeas corpus was declared irrelevant, and fugitives could not testify on their own behalf.

The Act contributed to the growing polarization of the country over the issue of slavery and was one of the factors leading to the American Civil War. It also led to abuses, with free Blacks being kidnapped and conscripted into slavery, as purported fugitives had no rights in court and could not defend themselves against accusations. Heavy penalties were imposed on federal marshals who refused to enforce the law, including fines of $1,000 (equivalent to $37,800 in 2024). The Fugitive Slave Law was repealed in 1864, and slavery was finally abolished in the US with the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865.

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Abolitionist forces

The Abolitionist movement in the United States, which sought to end slavery in the country, was active from the colonial era until the American Civil War. The anti-slavery movement originated during the Age of Enlightenment, with a focus on ending the transatlantic slave trade.

In 1688, a group of German Quakers in Colonial America issued the Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery, marking the beginning of the American abolitionist movement. Before the Revolutionary War, evangelical colonists were the primary advocates for ending slavery and the slave trade on humanitarian grounds. James Oglethorpe, the founder of the colony of Georgia, also had political motivations for advocating against slavery.

In 1780, during the Revolution, Massachusetts ratified its constitution, which included a clause declaring all men equal. This clause was the basis for several freedom suits filed by enslaved African Americans living in Massachusetts. In 1783, the Massachusetts Supreme Court reaffirmed the case of Brom and Bett v. Ashley, which held that even slaves had a constitutional right to liberty. This effectively abolished slavery in Massachusetts.

In 1807, Congress criminalized the importation of slaves, effective January 1, 1808, which was as soon as the Constitution allowed. In the mid-19th century, a small but dedicated group agitated for abolition under leaders such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. John Brown became an advocate and militia leader in attempting to end slavery by force of arms.

In the years leading up to the Civil War, tensions between the North and South escalated due to various factors, including the publication of the 1852 anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin", fighting between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces in Kansas, and the 1859 attempt by abolitionist John Brown to start a slave revolt at Harpers Ferry. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who opposed the expansion of slavery into Western territories, further inflamed tensions and led to the Southern states seceding from the Union and the start of the Civil War.

During the Civil War, immediate emancipation became a war goal for the Union, and Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, declaring freedom for slaves in the ten states still in rebellion. However, the Proclamation did not end slavery nationwide since it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in rebellion and not to the "border states" that remained in the Union. Lincoln recognized that a constitutional amendment was necessary to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.

The 13th Amendment, passed at the end of the Civil War, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime. The Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, marking the final constitutional solution to the issue of slavery.

Lincoln's emancipation

The word "slave" does not appear in the US Constitution, though slavery received important protections in the document. The three-fifths clause, for example, counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.

> [A]ll persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

The proclamation changed the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the secessionist Confederate states from enslaved to free. It also allowed former slaves to "be received into the armed service of the United States". Lincoln's measure underscored his heartfelt faith in and vision for the future of the reunited country. It clothed the Northern cause in a new moral imperative and made the eradication of slavery at war's end a certainty.

However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation. It only applied to areas of the Confederacy currently in a state of rebellion, and not even to the loyal "border states" that remained in the Union. Lincoln recognised that the proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment to guarantee the abolishment of slavery. The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed at the end of the Civil War, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the required 27 of the then 36 states on December 6, 1865.

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