Eleanor Finch
The word slave is not mentioned in the US Constitution, nor is slavery. Instead, the document refers to persons and includes several provisions about unfree persons. The Constitution includes three clauses that deal with slavery: the Three-Fifths Compromise, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years, and the fugitive slave clause. The ambiguity of the language used in the Constitution regarding slavery has been interpreted as a compromise to maintain the Union.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Does the US Constitution use the word "slave" | No |
| Does the US Constitution use the word "slavery" | No |
| Does the US Constitution refer to slaves as "persons" | Yes |
| Does the US Constitution refer to slaves as "property" | No |
| Does the US Constitution include provisions about unfree persons | Yes |
| Does the US Constitution include clauses related to slavery | Yes |
| Number of clauses | 3 or 4 |
| Examples of clauses | Three-Fifths Clause, ban on Congress ending the slave trade for 20 years, fugitive slave clause, slave insurrection clause |
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What You'll Learn
- The word slave does not appear in the US Constitution
- The Constitution included provisions about unfree persons
- The Three-Fifths Compromise allocated representation based on free persons and three-fifths of all other persons
- The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners
- The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was rooted in inequality and freedom for whites only
The word slave does not appear in the US Constitution
The word "slave" does not appear in the US Constitution. The framers consciously avoided the word, recognising that it would taint the document. The Constitution, however, did include several provisions that protected the institution of slavery.
The three-fifths clause, or the "federal ratio", is one such example. This clause 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 three-fifths compromise was devised by James Madison in 1783 and was initially rejected before being revived by Alexander Hamilton. It was presented as a proposed amendment to the Articles of Confederation to provide the federal government with a more reliable income. The Constitution also included the fugitive slave clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and the importation of slaves clause.
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, states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. Many of the framers, including some slaveholders, had moral qualms about slavery. For instance, Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, said that the slave trade was contrary to America's republican ideals and dishonourable to the American character. Similarly, George Mason, a Virginia delegate who owned hundreds of slaves, spoke out against slavery.
The ambiguity of the Constitution regarding slavery led to much controversy and debate. Abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison burned the document, calling it "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell". On the other hand, supporters of slavery argued that it was essential to the economic prosperity of the South and that its abolition would grant full citizenship to blacks, violating the spirit of the Constitution.
The issue of slavery was eventually addressed with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, and was ratified by 27 of the then 36 states on December 6, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, effective on January 1, 1863, had previously declared that the enslaved in Confederate-controlled areas were free.
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The Constitution included provisions about unfree persons
The original US Constitution did not use the words "slave" or "slavery" explicitly. However, it did include several provisions that pertained to unfree persons. One such provision was the Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3), which counted "three-fifths of each state's enslaved population" as part of its free population for allocating taxes, seats in the House of Representatives, and Electoral votes. This gave Southern states greater representation in the House and the Electoral College.
The Constitution also included the Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3), which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. This clause stated that slaves who escaped to another state did not become free but remained slaves and were subject to coercive rendition. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 further emphasised this clause.
The framers of the Constitution avoided using the word "slave" and instead used terms like "other persons" to refer to enslaved individuals. They recognised that the inclusion of the word "slave" would tarnish the document. Many of the framers had moral qualms about slavery, and some were members of anti-slavery societies. However, they believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, explicitly abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This amendment ensured that slavery would no longer be implicitly recognised or protected by the Constitution.
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The Three-Fifths Compromise allocated representation based on free persons and three-fifths of all other persons
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over 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 how much money the states would pay in taxes. The Three-Fifths Compromise allocated representation based on the number of free persons and three-fifths of all other persons.
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 compromise struck 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, also known as Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, stated that "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 slaves. This clause was a compromise between Southern politicians who wanted enslaved African-Americans to be counted as 'persons' for congressional representation and Northern politicians who rejected these demands out of concern for giving the South too much power.
The Three-Fifths Compromise is a highly controversial aspect of the US Constitution. Some people claim that it relegated Black people to "three-fifths of a person" status, while others argue that this is a manipulation of the Constitution to make it appear more flawed and racist than it is. It is important to note that the Constitution did not use the word "slave" and that the framers consciously avoided it, recognizing that it would sully the document. However, slavery received important protections in the Constitution, and the Three-Fifths Compromise gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
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The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners
The word "slave" is not explicitly mentioned in the US Constitution. However, the document included several provisions that protected slavery and the rights of slave owners, including the Fugitive Slave Clause.
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3, was a provision in the US Constitution that required runaway slaves to be returned to their owners. The clause stated that "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."
This clause was designed to prevent free states from becoming safe havens for runaway slaves and to address the concerns of Southern politicians who argued that the slave debate was driving a wedge between the newly created states. It was unanimously approved by the convention without further debate, despite objections from some delegates, including James Wilson and Roger Sherman.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was first enacted into law with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which authorized local governments to seize and return escapees to their owners and imposed penalties on anyone who aided in their flight. This was followed by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which added more provisions regarding runaways and levied harsher punishments for interfering in their capture. These acts were among the most controversial laws of the early 19th century and sparked widespread resistance and criticism, particularly from Northern states.
It is important to note that the Fugitive Slave Clause was eventually nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed in 1865, following the American Civil War, and marked a significant step towards ending the tragic legacy of slavery in the United States.
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The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was rooted in inequality and freedom for whites only
The Constitution of the Confederate States of America, composed by southern slaveholders in 1861, was rooted in the belief that the "negro is not equal to the white man". This ideology, known as "ordered liberty", was a cultural construct of white supremacy and black subordination, where the enslavement of Black people was justified as upholding the "laws of nature". The Confederate constitution sought to "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty" for its white citizens, while denying these very freedoms to those they enslaved.
The Cornerstone Speech, delivered by Stephens a few weeks before the Civil War, defended slavery as a just result of the supposed inferiority of Black people. It laid out the Confederacy's rationale for seceding, stating that their new government was the first in history to be based on the "great truth" of white supremacy. Stephens declared that the Confederate constitution had resolved all questions relating to African slavery and the "proper status of the negro", solidifying the belief that their new nation was founded on the principle of racial inequality.
The Constitution of the Confederate States of America, ratified on March 11, 1861, further entrenched these beliefs. It included provisions such as the right to keep and bear arms, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, but these freedoms were exclusively for white citizens. The Confederate constitution also ensured that only citizens of the Confederate States could vote for civil or political officers, effectively excluding enslaved Black people from any political representation.
The Confederate constitution reflected the values and interests of its authors, who sought to protect their economic and social power. By upholding slavery and denying the humanity of Black people, the Confederate constitution perpetuated a system of inequality and oppression. This stood in stark contrast to the ideals of freedom and equality that were espoused by the United States Constitution, which, despite its flaws and compromises, laid the groundwork for the eventual abolition of slavery.
While the word "slave" does not appear in the US Constitution, it included several provisions that protected slavery and granted extra representation to slave-owning states. The Three-Fifths Compromise, for example, allocated congressional representation based on "three-fifths of all other Persons", effectively counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person. This compromise, along with other concessions, highlighted the tension between northern and southern states and set the stage for the Civil War.
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Frequently asked questions
The word "slave" is never seen in the Constitution.
The framers of the Constitution avoided using the word "slave" as they believed slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out. They did not want a permanent moral stain on the document.
The Constitution included several provisions about unfree persons. The Three-Fifths Compromise, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, allocated Congressional representation based on "the whole Number of free Persons" and "three-fifths of all other Persons". The Constitution also included the fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
This is a matter of debate. The Constitution included ambiguous language pertaining to the holding of slaves. It included clauses that protected slavery, but it also created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish the institution.
Slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865.
