Isabella Carter
The original United States Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789, did not contain the words slave or slavery within its text. However, it dealt directly with American slavery in at least five of its provisions and indirectly protected the institution in others. The Constitution's biggest flaw was in protecting the institution of slavery, and it took a Civil War and constitutional amendments to eliminate it. The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery in America, but included an exception for those convicted of a crime. This exception created a pathway for states to legally enslave people through incarceration and has led to modern-day labor practices that are exploitative in nature.
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause
The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It stated that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted as part of the state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states. The compromise also impacted the number of electoral votes each state was allocated and the amount of money the states paid in taxes.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution, which stated: "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 this clause were slaves.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a controversial aspect of the US Constitution, as it has been criticised for relegating blacks to "three-fifths of a person" status. However, some argue that this interpretation is false and that the Compromise was an attempt to balance the needs of preserving the republic and confronting the moral and systemic evils of slavery. The Compromise was later superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
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The Fugitive Slave Clause
The exact wording of the Fugitive Slave Clause is:
> 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.
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The Slave Trade 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. This compromise was essential to the formation of the Union, but it was ultimately unsustainable, as demonstrated by the Civil War.
The specific language of the Slave Trade Clause is notable for its avoidance of the words "slave" or "slavery". Instead, it refers to persons who might be imported. This was likely due to embarrassment, the desire to avoid a permanent moral stain on the document, and the intention to not suggest that slavery was recognised under federal law.
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The Civil War
The US Constitution, which was ratified in 1787, did not specifically refer to slavery by name. However, it included clauses that protected the institution of slavery, such as the Fugitive Slave Clause and the Three-Fifths Clause. The former allowed slave owners to seize and repossess their slaves in another state, regardless of that state's laws, while the latter 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.
In the decades following the ratification of the Constitution, the issue of slavery became increasingly divisive, with the rise of abolitionist movements in the North and continued support for slavery in the South. Political tensions escalated as abolitionists and proponents of slavery argued over whether new US territories would be admitted as "slave" or "free" states. The Southern states feared that any restriction on the slave trade would negatively impact their economy, as they relied heavily on enslaved people's labour.
As the nation expanded westward, disputes between the Northern and Southern sections of the country, known as sectionalism, intensified over slavery. Despite the immorality of slavery being recognised, Congress repeatedly avoided addressing the issue through a series of compromises. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, for example, banned slavery in the northern part of the Louisiana Territory, but this only temporarily eased tensions.
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who opposed the expansion of slavery into Western territories, further inflamed Southern discontent. Lincoln's victory led to the Southern states seceding from the Union and forming the Confederate States of America, marking the start of the American Civil War. During the war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, declaring that all slaves in the Confederate states would be forever free. However, this proclamation did not end slavery nationwide, as it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in rebellion and not to the "loyal" border states that remained in the Union.
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The 13th Amendment
The Constitution, drafted in 1787, included several clauses related to slavery. At the time, slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States. While there was some support for restricting the slave trade, there was also deep tension between the practice of slavery and the notion in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal". The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, as the framers consciously avoided it, recognising that it would sully the document.
The specific clauses of the Constitution related to slavery were the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, the fugitive slave clause, and the slave insurrection clause. The Three-Fifths 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 framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
> "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."
While the 13th Amendment ended slavery and began the long-term goal of achieving equality for all Americans, it did not end discrimination against those who had been enslaved and Black Americans. The amendment also exempts from the involuntary servitude clause persons convicted of a crime and persons drafted to serve in the military.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitution allowed slavery to continue because it was a major component of the economy and society in the United States at the time. 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, some states would refuse to join the Union.
The Constitution only obliquely referred to slavery and never used the words "slave" or "slavery". Instead, it used terms like "persons held to Service or Labour". The framers consciously avoided the word "slave", recognizing that it would sully the document.
The specific clauses in the Constitution that related to slavery included the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, the fugitive slave clause, and the slave insurrections. The Three-Fifths Clause counted three-fifths of a state's slave population in apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
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