Omar Bennett
The US Constitution has been amended several times since its inception, and the original document did not include Black people as citizens. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment revoked the Black Codes and provided birthright citizenship, and the 15th Amendment granted African-American men the right to vote. The original Constitution did not mention Black people directly, but it did include the Three-Fifths Clause, which stated that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted along with the free population when determining each state's representation in the House of Representatives. This clause has been interpreted as evidence that the Founding Fathers considered Black people to be less than human. While the 14th Amendment extended constitutional rights to Black Americans, it would take continued struggles and amendments to secure these rights in practice.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Were black people included in the US Constitution? | No. The US Constitution did not restrict citizenship based on race, but it only counted enslaved people as 3/5ths of a person, rather than as full citizens, in state populations. |
| Were slaves considered citizens? | No. Slavery, which defined Black people as property, not as citizens, had shaped the United States since its founding. |
| Did the founding fathers intend to exclude black people? | Yes. The prevailing idea at the time of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution was that African Americans "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." |
| Did the founding fathers own slaves? | Yes. Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. |
| Was the US Constitution pro-slavery? | Yes. While some members of the Constitutional Convention voiced objections to slavery, the document protected slavery by prohibiting Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. |
| Were there amendments to the Constitution to expand civil rights for black Americans? | Yes. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed equal rights and citizenship for blacks, and prevented race from being used to disenfranchise men. |
| Were there black founding fathers? | Yes. Figures such as Frederick Douglass and Turner are considered African American founding fathers. |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The US Constitution and slavery
The original United States Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789, did not contain the words "slave" or "slavery" within its text. However, it directly addressed American slavery in at least five of its provisions and indirectly protected the institution in other parts of the document. The Constitution included the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards that state's total population for allocating seats in the House of Representatives. This gave Southern states with large slave populations greater representation in the House and the Electoral College. The Fugitive Slave Clause required Northern states to return runaway slaves to their owners in the South. The Constitution also included a provision prohibiting Congress from banning the importation of slaves for twenty years.
Many of the Founding Fathers, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, had moral qualms about slavery and were members of anti-slavery societies. However, they prioritized political unity and a strong central government over immediate abolition, resulting in key compromises that protected slavery. They believed that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By avoiding direct language about slavery and making concessions, the framers left the seeds for future conflict.
The question of whether the Constitution was pro-slavery or anti-slavery remains controversial. Abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison denounced it as hopelessly pro-slavery, while others argued that it laid the foundation for eventual abolition by creating a central government powerful enough to end the institution. After the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865, finally abolishing slavery in the United States. This was followed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, which guaranteed equal rights and citizenship for Black Americans and prevented race from being used to disenfranchise men.
Opposition to Constitution Ratification: Why the Divide?
You may want to see also
The Founding Fathers and slavery
The Founding Fathers of the United States inherited a slaveholding society, with slavery protected by law in all 13 American colonies when they declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. The Founding Fathers' views on slavery were varied, with some owning slaves themselves, others marrying into slave-owning families, and some being members of anti-slavery societies. Many of the Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, recognised that slavery violated the natural rights of the enslaved. However, they also prioritised the goal of maintaining the unity of the new United States over taking a bold stance against slavery.
The Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not include the word "slave", but it did include several clauses that protected slavery and gave extra representation to slave-holding states. The Three-Fifths Compromise, for example, allowed slave-holding states to count three-fifths of their slave population when apportioning the number of a state's representatives. This gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years and included a Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
Some of the Founding Fathers, such as Gouverneur Morris and Benjamin Franklin, were vocal critics of slavery. Morris called slavery a "nefarious institution" and "the curse of heaven on the States where it prevailed". Franklin, a former slaveholder, became a member of an anti-slavery society. Alexander Hamilton, who was born in a slave colony in the British West Indies, also became a member of an anti-slavery society and co-founded the New York Manumission Society in 1785, which established the New York African Free School in 1787.
Despite their criticisms, the Founding Fathers failed to abolish slavery in the Constitution. This was due to their commitment to maintaining national unity, their investment in slave-based agriculture, and their deep-seated racial prejudice. Frederick Douglass, a prominent abolitionist, argued that the Founding Fathers' intentions "were good, not bad" and that the Constitution looked "to the abolition of slavery rather than to its perpetuity".
In the years following the Constitution's ratification, Northern states began passing laws to gradually abolish slavery within their borders. However, the Southern states continued to rely on slave labour, especially after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. The issue of slavery became a source of vast regional and political divides, eventually leading to the American Civil War.
In conclusion, the Founding Fathers of the United States had varied views on slavery, but ultimately prioritised national unity over taking a strong stance against it. Their failure to abolish slavery in the Constitution left the seeds for future conflict, which would later erupt into the Civil War. It took the second founding of the Reconstruction Amendments (the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments) to finally outlaw slavery and guarantee equal rights for African Americans.
Unprofessional Conduct: Vermont Social Workers' Red Lines
You may want to see also
Black Americans' fight for birthright citizenship
The founding fathers' views on race and slavery are a highly contested topic. While some members of the Constitutional Convention voiced objections to slavery, the word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution. Instead, the framers consciously avoided the word, recognising that it would sully the document. Nevertheless, slavery received important protections in the Constitution, including the notorious three-fifths clause, which gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years and included a fugitive slave clause requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
Many of the framers harboured moral qualms about slavery, and some became members of anti-slavery societies. For example, John Adams wrote, "Every measure of prudence, therefore, ought to be assumed for the eventual total extirpation of slavery from the United States… I have, through my whole life, held the practice of slavery in … abhorrence." Despite these objections, the framers believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. By sidestepping the slavery issue, they left the seeds for future conflict.
In the early years of the United States, free Black Americans were a despised group, regularly confronted by those who argued that they were not citizens and thus had no rights before the courts or the Constitution. The American Colonization Society, for example, organised to pressure free Black Americans to leave the country. In 1821, when Congress considered admitting Missouri into the Union, lawmakers asked whether Black Americans would have the right to enter. That same year, U.S. Attorney General William Wirt was asked to resolve whether a free Black man could command a ship in Virginia's coastal waters. Wirt concluded that in Virginia, a free Black man could not be a citizen, but in another state, he perhaps could.
Black Americans continued to fight for their rights and citizenship in the face of profound uncertainty. Black abolitionists played a key role by stressing that freed Blacks needed equal rights after slavery was abolished. This led to the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, often referred to as the ""second founding" of the country. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, served a revolutionary purpose—to define African Americans as equal citizens under the law. It guaranteed birthright citizenship to every child born "within the jurisdiction of the United States," regardless of race. The first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."
While the Fourteenth Amendment provided a legal basis for challenging discrimination and demanding equal rights, its promises have not always been upheld. Over time, the Fourteenth Amendment's power to protect the constitutional rights of African Americans was undermined by legal challenges that reestablished the primacy of states' rights, allowed racial segregation, and relegated Black people to second-class citizenship. Despite these setbacks, Black Americans have continued to fight for birthright citizenship and equal rights, challenging the nation to fulfill its founding promises of liberty, equality, and justice for all.
Justice in the Constitution: An Example
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Reconstruction Amendments
The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, guaranteed equal rights and citizenship for all persons, regardless of race. This amendment addressed citizenship rights and required due process of law and equal protection under the law for all citizens. Thaddeus Stevens, the Republican floor leader in the House of Representatives, was a key figure in the passage of the 14th Amendment. He had a long history of advocating for the abolition of slavery and equal rights for Black Americans, and he played a crucial role in the struggle for these rights during Reconstruction.
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited the denial of a citizen's right to vote based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment was a response to the restriction of voting rights to white men only in the late 1860s. The Reconstruction Amendments were not without their limitations, however. While they promised to expand civil rights for Black Americans, these promises were eroded by state laws and federal court decisions throughout the late 19th century. It was not until the mid-20th century, with Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education and laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that the full benefits of these amendments were realised.
Philosophers' Influence on the American Constitution
You may want to see also
The Fourteenth Amendment
The original US Constitution, written by the Founding Fathers, did not include Black Americans. While the word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, the document included protections for slavery. For example, the Three-Fifths Clause gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College. The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years and included a Fugitive Slave Clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
The Pentagon Papers: Testing the First Amendment
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
No, they were not. The Constitution did not restrict citizenship based on race, but it also did not consider enslaved people as full citizens. The 14th Amendment, passed later, provided birthright citizenship for Black Americans.
The Constitution did not explicitly support slavery, but it also did not abolish it. It included protections for slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of a state's slave population in apportioning representation, giving extra representation to states with slaves.
Yes, many of the founding fathers owned slaves. Out of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves.
While there were no Black founding fathers present at the Constitutional Convention, Black abolitionists played a key role in the fight for equal rights for Black Americans.
No, the Constitution did not provide equal rights for all citizens. It took several amendments, such as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, also known as the "second founding," to expand civil rights and provide equal protection under the law for all citizens.
