Eleanor Finch
The US Constitution contained several clauses that implicitly addressed slavery and the slave trade, despite not using the terms slave or slavery. The Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, counted three-fifths of each state's enslaved population as persons for the purposes of allocating Congressional representation and taxation. The Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2, required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. Article I, Section 9, Clause 1, prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of persons until 1808. These clauses, along with the Slave Insurrection Clause and the Thirteenth Amendment, which formally abolished slavery, form the constitutional framework related to slavery in the US.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Clause name | The Slave Trade Clause, Importation Clause, Migration or Importation Clause |
| Article | I |
| Section | 9 |
| Clause | 1 |
| Content | Prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" where state governments allowed it, until 1808 |
| Mention of slavery | No |
| Mention of slave trade | No |
| Interpretation | Compromise between Southern states and states where slavery was abolished or being contemplated |
| Relevance today | No longer constitutionally relevant since it expired in 1808 |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause
> "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 Three-Fifths Compromise was struck during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention, which addressed the apportionment in the House of Representatives and the number of electoral votes each state would have in presidential elections based on a state's population. The Southern states, where slavery was pivotal to the economy, wanted their entire population to be considered when determining the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, the 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 an attempt to preserve the union and confront the moral and systemic evils of slavery. However, it has been criticised for purportedly implying that slaves were considered less than fully human. It is important to note that the Constitution itself did not use the word "slave" and referred to slaves as "persons". This avoidance of the term "slavery" in the Constitution has been interpreted as an attempt to avoid putting a "permanent moral stain" on the document.
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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. The clause requires a "person held to service or labour" in one state, who escapes to another state, to be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped. The text of the clause is as follows:
> 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 enacted in the context of a divided United States, with some states allowing slavery and others prohibiting it. The clause was a compromise between Southern politicians, who wanted enslaved African-Americans to be recognised as 'persons' for the purposes of congressional representation, and Northern politicians, who rejected this idea due to concerns about giving too much power to the South. Notably, the clause does not use the words "slave" or "slavery", and this was typical of the Constitution's approach to slavery.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was controversial and led to increasing resistance in the North, particularly after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Several Northern states enacted "personal liberty laws" to protect free Black residents from kidnapping and provide safeguards for accused fugitives. For example, Massachusetts prohibited state officials from assisting in fugitive slave renditions and banned the use of state facilities for holding alleged fugitives.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was effectively nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery. However, it is notable that the Thirteenth Amendment has rarely been cited in case law, and slavery continued in areas under the jurisdiction of Native American tribes beyond ratification.
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Slave Trade Clause
The Slave Trade Clause, also known as the Importation of Persons Clause, is outlined in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the US Constitution. This clause is one of a handful of provisions in the original Constitution that relates to slavery, although it does not use the word "slave". Instead, it refers to the "importation of persons".
The Slave Trade Clause prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" until 1808, 20 years after the Constitution took effect. This was a compromise between Southern states, where slavery was pivotal to the economy, and states where the abolition of slavery had been accomplished or was being contemplated.
The clause was included in the Constitution because, at the time it was drafted in 1787, slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States. It is notable that the Constitution does not use the word "slavery" in the provisions that most directly respond to the practice. Instead, it refers to the "importation of persons", without specifying who these persons are. This was likely a deliberate choice by the framers of the Constitution, who may have wanted to avoid putting a "permanent moral stain" on the document, or to avoid suggesting that slavery was recognised under federal law.
The Slave Trade Clause is no longer constitutionally relevant as it expired in 1808. However, it remains politically and culturally significant as a reminder of the morality and profitability of the international trade in human beings. The inclusion of this clause in the Constitution reflects the deep tension between the practice of slavery and the notion in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal".
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Slave Insurrection Clause
The Slave Insurrection Clause, also known as the third clause, is found in Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution. While it may pertain to slave insurrections, Frederick Douglass argued that it is a general statement affirming the chief executive's authority and duty to suppress "riots or insurrections" to maintain law and order.
The US Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not explicitly mention the words "slave," "slavery," "race," or "color." Instead, it included provisions related to "unfree persons" and indirectly addressed slavery and the slave trade. The Slave Insurrection Clause is one of the four clauses that have been used to criticise the Constitution as a pro-slavery document.
The Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, is another significant clause related to slavery. It provided that the apportionment of representatives would be based on the population of free persons, excluding untaxed Indians and "three-fifths of all other persons." The "other persons" referred to the enslaved African Americans, who constituted around a third of the Southern states' population at that time. This clause was a compromise between Southern and Northern politicians regarding congressional representation.
Another clause, the Importation Clause or the Slave Trade Clause, in Article I, Section 9, prohibited the federal government from restricting the importation of "persons" for twenty years after the Constitution took effect. This clause addressed the importation of enslaved persons without explicitly using the term "slave." It was a compromise between Southern states, where slavery was economically crucial, and states contemplating or having achieved abolition.
The Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2, stated that slaves who escaped to another state remained slaves and could be returned to their owners. This clause reflected the divisions in the country, with some states banning slavery while others depended on it economically.
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Importation of Persons Clause
The Importation of Persons Clause, also known as the Slave Trade Clause, is part of the United States Constitution's original provisions related to slavery. It is found in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, and reads:
> "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."
This clause, drafted in 1787, prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" until 1808, twenty years after the Constitution took effect. The term "persons" was understood at the time to refer primarily to enslaved African individuals. Notably, the clause does not explicitly mention the word "slave," reflecting the belief that slavery was morally wrong and the intention to avoid a permanent moral stain on the document.
The Importation of Persons Clause was a compromise between the Southern states, where slavery was crucial to the economy, and the states contemplating or having already accomplished abolition. It allowed Congress to pass legislation outlawing the importation of persons, but only after a significant delay. This delay ensured that the economic interests of the Southern states were protected in the short term, while also providing a pathway to eventually restrict the slave trade.
The clause's relevance expired in 1808, and it is no longer constitutionally applicable. However, it played a role in shaping the early economic and social landscape of the United States, particularly regarding slavery and the slave trade.
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Frequently asked questions
The Slave Trade Clause, also known as the Importation of Persons Clause, is outlined in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the US Constitution. It prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of "persons" to states that allowed slavery for 20 years after the Constitution took effect.
The Three-Fifths Clause, also known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, is in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3. It stated that the number of representatives for each state would be based on the count of free persons plus "three-fifths of all other persons". The "other persons" referred to slaves, who were considered three-fifths of a person.
The Fugitive Slave Clause is in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2. It stated that slaves who escaped to free states would not be freed but would be returned to their owners.
