Isabella Carter
The original U.S. Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not contain the word slave, but it included several provisions that protected and regulated the practice of slavery. The most well-known of these is the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted three-fifths of each state's slave population when apportioning representation, giving Southern states with large slave populations greater representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The Constitution also included a Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years. These provisions reflected a compromise between Northern and Southern states that was essential for the ratification of the Constitution and the formation of the Union. However, as slavery became increasingly untenable politically, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Avoided the word "slavery" | Yes |
| Protected slavery | Yes |
| Three-fifths clause | Gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College |
| Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 | Prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" |
| Slave Trade Clause | Addressed by constitutional scholars |
| Fugitive slave clause | Required the return of runaway slaves to their owners |
| Power to put down rebellions | Included slave insurrections |
| Abolition | Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution |
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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 those states could elect and send to Congress. Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, given that those slaves had no voting rights. A compromise was struck to resolve this impasse. 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 North.
The three-fifths ratio was proposed by James Madison, and was an amendment to the Articles of Confederation. This amendment failed, falling two states short of the unanimous approval required to amend the Articles of Confederation. Madison explained the reasoning for the 3/5 ratio in Federalist No. 54, stating that slaves were not "considered merely as property, and in no respect whatever as persons".
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Fugitive Slave Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It states that a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who escapes to another state must be returned to their master in the state from which they fled. The clause was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and remained in effect until the abolition of slavery under the Thirteenth Amendment.
The Fugitive Slave Clause gave enslavers a constitutional right to reclaim their enslaved property from another state. This right was based on the understanding that 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 was enacted without mentioning the word "slave", which has led to debate among modern legal scholars about whether it conferred constitutional legitimacy on slavery. Some argue that its vague wording was a political compromise, while others contend that it functionally entrenched slaveholder power.
The Fugitive Slave Clause formed the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which gave slaveholders the right to capture escaped enslaved persons. The enforcement provisions of this Act were strengthened in 1850, leading to increased resistance to its enforcement in Northern states. Several Northern states enacted "personal liberty laws" to protect free Black residents from kidnapping and provide procedural safeguards for accused fugitives. Despite this resistance, the Supreme Court ruled in 1859 that states could not obstruct federal enforcement, reinforcing federal supremacy.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime". This amendment rendered the clause mostly moot, although it has been noted that people can still be held to service or labour under limited circumstances.
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Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1
The clause states: "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, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person."
In essence, this clause prohibited the federal government from interfering with the importation of enslaved people into the United States until 1808, 20 years after the Constitution took effect. It was a compromise between the Southern states, where slavery was a vital part of the economy, and the Northern states, where abolition was a more popular sentiment. This clause ensured that Congress could not act to prohibit the importation of slaves for those 20 years, providing some security to the Southern states that relied on slave labour.
In the years leading up to 1808, support for restricting the slave trade grew, both within the US and internationally. In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson anticipated the upcoming expiration of Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, congratulating his "fellow-citizens" on the opportunity to "withdraw the citizens of the United States from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa".
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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."
The path towards the 13th Amendment was not without opposition. The amendment's supporters, including Northern Republicans and some Democrats, argued that slavery was uncivilised and had negative effects on both white people and black people. They believed that ending slavery was necessary for national progress and would restore constitutional rights that had been violated in slave states. On the other hand, opponents of the amendment, primarily Southern states, made arguments based on federalism and states' rights. Some contended that the amendment would lead to full citizenship for black people and that it violated the spirit of the Constitution.
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The Slave Trade Clause
In the 1790s, Congress passed statutes regulating the trade in slaves by US ships on the high seas. The United Kingdom and other countries also passed legislation restricting the slave trade, increasing international pressure on the United States to curb the practice. In December 1806, President Thomas Jefferson anticipated the upcoming expiration of the Slave Trade Clause, stating:
> I congratulate you, fellow-citizens, on the approach of the period at which you may interpose your authority constitutionally to withdraw the citizens of the United States from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa, and which the morality, the reputation, and the best interests of our country have long been eager to proscribe.
In 1800, an act of Congress made it illegal for Americans to engage in the slave trade between nations, and gave US authorities the right to seize slave ships and confiscate their cargo. The "Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves" took effect in 1808, imposing heavy penalties on international traders. However, it did not end slavery or the domestic sale of slaves, and the interstate sale of slaves persisted between ports within the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed in 1865, abolished slavery in the United States. It states that "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."
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, is one of a handful of provisions in the original Constitution related to slavery, though it does not use the word "slave". This clause prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of "persons" (i.e. enslaved African persons) by state governments until 20 years after the Constitution took effect, in 1808.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a clause in the Constitution that counted three-fifths of a state's slave population when apportioning representation. This gave Southern states with large slave populations extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
