Omar Bennett
The US Constitution is one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions globally. However, it has historically lacked representation for specific groups. The Three-Fifths Compromise counted 60% of enslaved people towards congressional representation, institutionalising slavery and racial subordination. Native Americans were excluded from the constitutional system, governed by treaties and statutes that dispossessed them. Women were second-class citizens, unable to vote until 1920. Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution due to its lack of a bill of rights and protection of individual liberties, particularly impacting small farmers, landowners, shopkeepers, and labourers.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Enslaved Africans | Counted as three-fifths of a person |
| Women | Second-class citizens, unable to vote |
| Native Americans | Excluded from the constitutional system, defined as an alien people in their own land |
| Anti-Federalists | Small farmers, landowners, shopkeepers, and laborers |
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Women
However, it is important to note that women were not left out of the Constitution. They have always been included in all of the constitutional protections provided to all persons, fully and equally, without any basis in the text for discrimination on the basis of sex. The phrase “the whole number of free persons” includes females and males. By not mentioning women or men, and speaking only of "persons," the Constitution affords every right, privilege, and protection to female persons as well as male persons, equally.
The explicit but unexamined inclusion of women in the Constitution was quickly overshadowed, making their presence in the document shadowy. The mention of "sex," however fleeting and inadvertent, means that the Constitution is founded on an inclusive theory of representation. The advocates of "persons" prevailed over those who argued for representation based on property, which had no obvious rationale for excluding women.
The Northwest Ordinance, written in the same year as the Constitution, provides an example of the typical exclusion of women. It states that "free male inhabitants, of full age" shall "elect representatives." Voters are also spoken of directly as men. This was not exceptional for the time.
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Native Americans
The relationship between Native Americans and the US government has been complex and often hostile. The US government has, at times, denied Native Americans their rights, and Native American religious beliefs and practices have posed dilemmas for the application of certain freedoms. For example, while most Native Americans regarded land as belonging to everyone, Europeans introduced the concept of individual property ownership, leading to conflicts over land ownership and forcing Native Americans to retreat or fight for their land.
The Dawes Act of 1887 offered American citizenship to Native Americans who accepted individual land grants, but this also resulted in further loss of land for Native Americans as the government aggressively sought to allow other parties to acquire it. The 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, was interpreted in a way that excluded most Native Americans from citizenship. In 1870, only 8% of Native Americans were classified as "taxed" and eligible for citizenship.
Despite these challenges, Native Americans have served in the US military and fought in World Wars I and II, with over 8,000 serving in World War I and 25,000 in World War II. Their contributions and patriotism led to the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US. However, even after this Act, Native Americans continued to face obstacles in exercising their voting rights.
Today, federally recognized Native American tribes possess certain inherent rights of self-government and are entitled to receive federal benefits, services, and protections. While some tribes have adopted constitutions, others operate under traditional systems of government, and many have their own governmental structures, including tribal court systems.
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People without property
The US Constitution was drafted in 1787 by 55 delegates who gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates included propertied white men, and the Constitution was designed to protect the liberties of this group against a more powerful federal government.
The Constitution was not intended to apply to everyone. Those without property were excluded from the "consent of the governed". This group included small farmers, shopkeepers, and labourers, who were among the Anti-Federalists—those who opposed the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists fought against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government, and because it lacked a bill of rights to protect individual liberties.
The Bill of Rights, when it was eventually passed, was written in broad language that seemed to exclude no one. However, it was not intended to protect all people, and whole groups were left out. Women, for example, were essentially the property of their husbands and were unable to vote until 1920. Native Americans were also excluded from the constitutional system, defined as an alien people in their own land. They were governed by federal treaties and statutes that stripped tribes of their land and autonomy.
The Constitution also failed to represent enslaved people. While the word "slavery" does not appear in the Constitution, it was central to debates over commerce and representation. The Three-Fifths Compromise provided that three-fifths of enslaved people in each state would count towards congressional representation, increasing the number of congressional seats in several Southern states.
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Enslaved people
The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, and the framers consciously avoided using it. However, slavery was a central issue during the debates over the Constitution, with delegates divided between those from the North and South. 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 Southern delegates strongly argued for the continuation of the slave trade, seeing any national limitation on it as a threat to slavery itself. They believed that enslaved people should count the same as free people for representation purposes due to their region's large slave population. On the other hand, Northern delegates did not want to count the enslaved at all. The debate over the slave trade resulted in a compromise, with Congress given the power to ban the importation of enslaved people after 20 years, which it did in 1808.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was another provision in the Constitution that related to slavery. It stated that slaves who escaped to another state did not become free but remained slaves, and they could be claimed by their owners.
The Constitution's connection to slavery remained a controversial issue, with some, like abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, considering it a pro-slavery document. Others, like Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, believed it to be anti-slavery, supporting principles that would eventually lead to abolition. The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
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Anti-Federalists
The Anti-Federalists were a group of Americans who opposed the creation of a stronger US federal government and the ratification of the US Constitution in 1787. They were a loose coalition of popular politicians, led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, who was an influential advocate for American independence from England. The Anti-Federalists generally preferred a government as formed in 1781 by the Articles of Confederation, which granted more power to state governments. They believed that the Constitution would lead to a loss of individual liberties, an erosion of state sovereignty, and the potential for tyranny. They wanted a weaker central government that would mainly assist state governments by providing basic functions like defence, international diplomacy, and setting foreign policy.
The Anti-Federalists were composed of diverse elements, including those who opposed the Constitution because they believed that a stronger central government threatened the sovereignty and prestige of the states, localities, or individuals. Some saw the proposed government as a new centralized and "monarchic" power in disguise that would replicate the cast-off governance of Great Britain and threaten their personal liberties. They were afraid that the position of president, then a novelty, might evolve into a monarchy. This fear can be partly explained by the fact that in 1789, most of the world's governments were still monarchies, and the function of a "president" was a relatively unknown concept.
Others believed that the central government under the Articles of Confederation was sufficient, while some thought that the national government under the Articles was too weak, but the government under the Constitution would be too strong. They also believed that a large central government would not serve the interests of small towns and rural areas, as opposed to the urban interests that most Federalist delegates aligned with. Anti-federalists were more likely to be small farmers than lawyers and merchants and came from rural areas. They wanted to protect the interests of rural areas and farmers, arguing that the Constitution would be oppressive and provided insufficient rights in the courts, such as no guarantee of juries in civil cases or local juries in criminal cases.
The Anti-Federalists published their views in articles known as the Anti-Federalist Papers, written under pseudonyms such as "Brutus" (Robert Yates) and "Federal Farmer" (Richard Henry Lee). Their arguments had more impact in some states than in others. The opposition in most states was disorganized and inert, with local interests and loyalties. They attacked on several fronts, including the lack of a bill of rights, discrimination against southern states in navigation legislation, direct taxation, and the loss of state sovereignty. Despite their efforts, the Constitution was ratified, but Anti-Federalist influence helped lead to the enactment of the Bill of Rights.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was drafted by propertied white men, and it was written for propertied white men. The document did not apply to everyone and lacked a bill of rights.
The "Three-Fifths Compromise" was a rule that three-fifths (60%) of enslaved people in each state would count toward congressional representation. This rule increased the number of congressional seats in several states, particularly in the South.
The "Great Compromise" was an agreement that each state would have one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
