Omar Bennett
The original United States Constitution did not contain the words slave or slavery within its text, but it directly addressed American slavery in at least five provisions and indirectly protected the institution elsewhere. The most prominent of these provisions was the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave Southern states more power in the House and the Electoral College. Another provision, the Fugitive Slave Clause, required states into which slaves escaped to return them to their owners. The Constitution also included the Slave Trade Clause, which prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of Southern delegates for a strong central government.
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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 "other Persons" referred to in the clause were slaves, who made up around a third of the population of the Southern states at the time. The Three-Fifths Clause provided that apportionment of representatives and direct taxes would be based on the population of free persons, excluding "Indians not taxed" and counting "three-fifths of all other persons." This compromise was reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention, which addressed the apportionment of the House of Representatives and the number of electoral votes each state would have in presidential elections based on a state's population.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an attempt to resolve the impasse between slave-holding states and free states. Slave-holding states wanted their entire population, including slaves, to be counted when determining the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. Free states, on the other hand, wanted to exclude the slave population from the count since those slaves had no voting rights. 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, giving the Southern states more representation in the House and in the Electoral College.
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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 United States Constitution. This clause is one of a handful of provisions in the original Constitution related to slavery, although it does not use the word "slave".
The Slave Trade Clause prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of "persons" until 1808, twenty years after the Constitution took effect. At the time, this was understood to refer primarily to enslaved African persons. It was a compromise between the Southern states, where slavery was a pivotal part of the economy, and the Northern states, where abolition had been accomplished or was contemplated.
The omission of the word "slavery" from the Constitution has been interpreted in various ways. Some suggest it was due to embarrassment, while others argue that it reflected a desire to leave slavery as an issue for state laws rather than federal law.
The Slave Trade Clause is no longer constitutionally relevant, as it expired in 1808. However, it remains a part of the Constitution and continues to hold cultural and political significance in discussions about the morality and profitability of the international trade in human beings.
The inclusion of the Slave Trade Clause in the Constitution was a contentious issue, with fierce debates taking place during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Despite the eventual agreement, the compromise between the Northern and Southern states was ultimately unsustainable, as demonstrated by the Civil War.
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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:
> 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 Clause was adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and remained in full effect until the abolition of slavery under the Thirteenth Amendment. It gave slaveholders the right to reclaim or seize enslaved people who had escaped to another state, and required that those people be returned. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was based on this Clause, and its enforcement provisions were strengthened in 1850.
The Fugitive Slave Clause did not use the words "slave" or "slavery", and modern legal scholars debate whether it conferred constitutional legitimacy on slavery. Some argue that its vague wording was a political compromise that avoided overtly validating slavery at the federal level, while others argue it entrenched slaveholder power. The Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime", rendered the Clause mostly moot.
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Domestic Violence Provision
The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789, did not contain the words "slave" or "slavery" in its text. However, it directly addressed American slavery in at least five provisions and indirectly protected the institution in other parts of the document.
One such provision was the Domestic Violence Provision, also known as Article IV, Section 4. This provision guaranteed that the United States government would protect states from "domestic violence," which included slave rebellions. This provision reflected the compromise between Northern and Southern states that was essential for the ratification of the Constitution and the formation of the Union.
The Domestic Violence Provision was one of the ways in which the Constitution indirectly protected slavery. While it did not explicitly mention slavery, it was designed to address concerns about slave revolts and insurrections. This provision empowered Congress to call forth the Militia to suppress insurrections and rebellions, which included slave rebellions.
The inclusion of the Domestic Violence Provision in the Constitution highlights the complex and contradictory nature of the document regarding slavery. While some members of the Constitutional Convention voiced objections to slavery, they ultimately consented to provisions that protected the institution. This compromise was unsustainable and laid the foundation for future conflicts, as evidenced by the Civil War.
Today, the United States has federal domestic violence laws in place to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable. These laws, such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), recognize intimate partners, including spouses, former spouses, and cohabiting individuals, and provide rights to victims, such as the right to be treated with fairness, respect, and protection.
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Capitation Clause
The Capitation Clause, also known as the Direct Tax Clause, is the fourth clause of Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution. It states that "No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken."
The clause places restrictions on Congress's power to impose direct taxes, such as a dollar-per-human tax, or capitation. It requires that any such tax must be proportional to the population of each state, ensuring that the financial burden falls equally on each state in the Union.
The Capitation Clause is one of several provisions in the original Constitution that dealt directly or indirectly with American slavery without explicitly mentioning it. The Three-Fifths Clause, for instance, counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards its total population when apportioning the House of Representatives, giving Southern states with large slave populations more power in the House and the Electoral College.
The Capitation Clause is related to the Three-Fifths Clause, as it declared that any "capitation" or other "direct tax" had to take into account the Three-Fifths Clause. This meant that if a capitation tax were imposed, slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person for tax purposes, just as they were for representation purposes.
The Capitation Clause, along with the Slave Trade Clause, could not be amended before 1808 according to Article V of the Constitution. This protected the Southern states' interests in slavery and ensured that the slave trade could not be banned for at least 20 years after the Constitution took effect.
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Frequently asked questions
The Three-Fifths Clause, or Three-Fifths Compromise, is found in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution. It states that apportionment of representatives would be based on the population of free persons, excluding untaxed Native Americans and three-fifths of slaves. This gave Southern states more power in the House and the Electoral College.
The Fugitive Slave Clause is found in Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph 3. It required states that slaves escaped to, to return them to their owners.
The Slave Trade Clause, or Importation of Persons Clause, is found in Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 1. It prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808.
