Malcolm Rivera
The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, never uses the word 'slavery' in its provisions that respond to the practice. The word 'slave' does not appear in the Constitution, and the document only obliquely refers to slavery. This is despite the fact that slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States at the time. The omission of the word has been attributed to the framers' conflicted stance on slavery, their moral qualms, and their desire to avoid sullying the document. The Constitution included several clauses that indirectly addressed slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years. The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, was the first time the word 'slavery' was mentioned in the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution | The framers consciously avoided the word, recognising that it would sully the document |
| The framers' conflicted stance towards slavery | They believed slavery was morally wrong and would die out, and they did not want that permanent moral stain on the document |
| The framers' intention | They did not want to suggest that slavery was recognised under federal law, but rather existed only as a result of state laws |
| The framers' belief | They believed that slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States |
| The framers' dilemma | Drafting a bill of rights for the entire Union would have required choosing between rival formulations, risking conflict that might have prevented the Convention from reaching an agreement on the Constitution |
| The framers' assumption | Many of the drafters of the Constitution assumed that slavery would die out naturally in the South as it had done in the industrialised North |
| The framers' view | They believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government |
| The framers' ownership of slaves | Many of the framers harboured moral qualms about slavery, and some became members of anti-slavery societies |
| The framers' intention | They wanted to create a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery |
| The framers' view | They believed that slavery was morally wrong and embarrassing |
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What You'll Learn
The word slavery was omitted to avoid sullying the document
The word "slavery" was omitted from the US Constitution, and the omission was likely intentional. The document's framers consciously avoided the word, recognising that it would taint the document. The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, and the document only very obliquely refers to slavery. Instead, the Constitution refers to slaves as "persons".
The framers' conflicted stance toward slavery led them to deliberately avoid using direct language about the institution in the Constitution. Many of the framers harbored moral qualms about slavery, and some became members of anti-slavery societies. They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would die out, and they did not want that permanent moral stain on the document. They may have also been too embarrassed to use the word "slavery" or did not want to suggest that slavery was recognised under federal law.
The omission of the word "slavery" from the Constitution is notable, especially considering that slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States at the time of the drafting of the document. The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for 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. By sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers left the seeds for future conflict.
The Constitution included several clauses that directly or indirectly addressed slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Importation of Persons Clause. These clauses reflected a compromise between Northern and Southern states that was essential to the ratification of the Constitution and the formation of the Union. However, this compromise was ultimately unsustainable, as shown by the Civil War.
The question of whether the Constitution was pro-slavery or anti-slavery is still a subject of debate. While the Constitution did not explicitly mention slavery, it also did not include a bill of rights that protected the freedom and equality of all people. The absence of a strong anti-slavery stance in the Constitution laid the foundation for the tragic events that followed, including the Civil War and the continued existence of slavery in various forms even after the 13th Amendment was ratified.
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The framers' conflicted stance on slavery led to vague language
The Constitution of the United States never used the word "slavery" because the framers had a conflicted stance on the issue. At the time of the drafting of the Constitution in 1787, slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States, particularly in the South. Many of the framers, including slaveholders, harbored moral qualms about slavery. Some, including Benjamin Franklin (a former slaveholder) and Alexander Hamilton (who was born in a slave colony), became members of anti-slavery societies.
The framers believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, southern states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers left the seeds for future conflict.
The framers' conflicted stance toward slavery led them to deliberately avoid using direct language about the institution in the Constitution. They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want a permanent moral stain on the document. They also did not want to suggest that slavery was recognized under federal law, but rather existed only as a result of state laws.
The framers' avoidance of the word "slavery" in the Constitution is reflected in various clauses related to the institution, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Slave Trade Clause. These clauses used indirect language and referred to slaves as "persons" to obscure the reference to slavery.
The omission of the word "slavery" from the Constitution has been a subject of debate and criticism. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, described the Constitution as "defective from the start" due to its failure to address slavery explicitly. The 13th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, was the first time the word "slavery" appeared in the Constitution, but it has been criticized for not fully abolishing the practice.
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The Southern states' economies depended on slavery
The Constitution, drafted in 1787, avoided using the word "slavery" in its provisions that most directly responded to the practice. The Southern states' economies were heavily dependent on slavery, and the drafters of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
Slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. In the South, enslaved workers represented Southern planters' most significant investment and the bulk of their wealth. With cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and sugarcane, the Southern states became the economic engine of the burgeoning nation. By the start of the Civil War, the South was producing 75% of the world's cotton, and slavery had created more millionaires per capita in the Mississippi River valley than anywhere else in the nation.
The Southern states demanded that each enslaved person be counted along with whites when calculating political representation in Congress. This was because enslaved workers constituted a sizable portion of a planter's property holdings and were a significant source of tax revenue for state and local governments. The Northern states opposed this, arguing that it gave the Southern states an unfair advantage. A compromise was reached, and it was agreed that each enslaved person would count as three-fifths of a person.
The Southern economy was heavily dependent on slave labor, and this dependence only increased over time. The invention of the modern cotton gin in 1793 provided a more sustainable and economically viable crop for Southern plantations, further entrenching slavery in the Southern economy. By the start of the 19th century, slavery and cotton had become essential to the continued growth of America's economy.
The Southern states' economies were so dependent on slavery that even the belief that all men were created equal was not enough to dislodge the practice. The economic impact of slavery extended beyond the South, with Northern and British cotton mills, financial industries, and shipping industries all benefiting from the production of cotton by enslaved workers.
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The framers believed slavery would die out naturally
The Constitution of the United States was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789. At the time, slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States, particularly in the South. The Northern states, such as Massachusetts, had banned slavery, using universal language affirming freedom and equality for all men. In contrast, the Southern states, like Virginia, accommodated slavery by employing restrictive language that limited rights to "freemen".
The framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the word "slavery" or "slave", despite the fact that slavery received important protections in the Constitution. The Three-Fifths Clause, for example, 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 believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want a permanent moral stain on the document. They also did not want to suggest that slavery was recognised under federal law, instead existing only as a result of state laws.
Many of the framers harboured moral qualms about slavery. Some, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies. Abraham Lincoln argued that the framers avoided any specific mention of slavery because they did not want the enduring Constitution to suggest that slavery had ever existed in the United States. Frederick Douglass, the great black leader and orator, commented on this silence, arguing that the original Constitution was not pro-slavery. He pointed out that the Constitution did not contain any pro-slavery clauses and that the framers purposefully avoided mentioning slavery.
Despite the framers' intentions, the Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery. However, it also temporarily strengthened slavery, and the issue of slavery played a role in the omission of a bill of rights in the original version of the Constitution. The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, was the first time the word "slavery" was mentioned in the Constitution.
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The 13th Amendment's failure to abolish slavery
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. However, it included an exception for cases where slavery was used as punishment for a crime. This exception has been criticised as a loophole that has allowed slavery to persist in the form of mass incarceration, particularly of African Americans. This is seen as a failure to truly abolish slavery.
The 13th Amendment was preceded by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1, 1863, and declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas were free. The proclamation, however, did not end slavery across the nation as it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in rebellion and not to the "loyal" border states that remained in the Union. Lincoln recognised that the proclamation would need to be followed by a constitutional amendment to truly abolish slavery.
The 13th Amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War, and while it legally abolished slavery, it did not address the deep-rooted racial inequalities and injustices that had been entrenched by centuries of slavery. The amendment also did not provide for the social and economic integration of formerly enslaved people, leaving them with limited opportunities and vulnerable to exploitation. This failure to address the broader systemic issues contributed to the continued oppression and marginalisation of African Americans.
Furthermore, the 13th Amendment did not eradicate the cultural and societal beliefs that had perpetuated slavery. The legacy of slavery, including racism, discrimination, and segregation, continued to shape societal attitudes and policies, leading to ongoing disparities and injustices for African Americans. The failure to address these underlying issues meant that while the legal institution of slavery may have been abolished, its impact and influence persisted.
The exception for criminal punishment in the 13th Amendment has had significant consequences. This loophole allowed for the criminalisation of minor offences and the enforcement of harsh penalties, which disproportionately affected African Americans. The over-policing and incarceration of African Americans became a new form of racial control, leading to mass incarceration and the perpetuation of racial inequality. This has been referred to as the "New Jim Crow", reflecting how the criminal justice system has been utilised to maintain racial hierarchies.
In conclusion, while the 13th Amendment legally abolished slavery, its failure to address the broader societal, cultural, and systemic issues that perpetuated slavery meant that true abolition was not achieved. The exception for criminal punishment created a loophole that allowed for the continued oppression and marginalisation of African Americans, demonstrating the limitations of legal reform in eradicating deep-rooted injustices.
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Frequently asked questions
The framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the word "slavery" as they believed it would taint the document. They also did not want to suggest that slavery was recognised under federal law, instead, existing only as a result of state laws.
The Constitution has been interpreted as both pro-slavery and anti-slavery. The Fugitive Slave Clause and the Three-Fifths Clause have been considered to be pro-slavery. On the other hand, the Fifth Amendment and the federal government's power to ban slavery in the territories have been seen as anti-slavery.
No, the 13th Amendment did not end slavery. Instead, it was the first time the word "slavery" was mentioned in the Constitution, and it gave constitutional protection to the practice of American slavery.
The Constitution's failure to address slavery directly and its compromise between Northern and Southern states ultimately led to the Civil War. The seeds for future conflict were planted as the issue of slavery was left unresolved.
