Simone Lawson
The US Constitution's relationship with slavery is a highly contested topic. The document, which was drafted in 1787, does not contain the words slave or slavery. Instead, it includes clauses such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Importation Clause, which prohibited the federal government from banning the importation of slaves for 20 years. Many of the framers were slaveholders, but some were abolitionists, and there was criticism of slavery at the constitutional convention. The framers believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government and to avoid war. The Constitution's protection of slavery is considered by many to be its biggest flaw, but others argue that it created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish the institution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Avoiding the use of the word "slavery" | The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution. The framers consciously avoided the word, recognizing that it would sully the document. |
| Avoiding the use of the word "slave" | The framers went to great lengths to avoid overtly mentioning “slavery” or “slave”. |
| Framers' belief in a stronger union | The framers believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. |
| Framers' belief in the eventual extinction of slavery | The framers built a regime of liberty that they hoped would lead to slavery’s ultimate extinction. |
| Framers' moral qualms about slavery | Many of the framers harbored moral qualms about slavery. |
| Framers' belief in the incompatibility of slavery with the principles of the revolution | Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, said that the slave trade was contrary to America’s republican ideals and the principles of the revolution. |
| Framers' belief in the incompatibility of slavery with the idea that "all men are created equal" | The framers believed that slavery contradicted the natural rights of all and denied the idea of consent in a republic. |
| Framers' belief in the eventual prohibition of the slave trade | The framers believed that the Constitution’s power to prohibit the slave trade would lay “the foundation for banishing slavery out of this country”. |
| Framers' belief in the dying out of slavery | Some framers believed that slavery was a vile institution that was dying out anyway. |
| Framers' belief in the need for unity to avoid war | The framers believed that a stronger government was necessary to avoid war. |
| Framers' belief in the need for compromise | The framers believed that a compromise was necessary to achieve their highest goal of a stronger union of republican self-government. |
| Framers' belief in the importance of individual rights | The framers were revolutionary thinkers who championed individual rights. |
| Framers' belief in the importance of fairness and justice | The framers' ideas of fairness and justice are what many world leaders emulate today. |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Clause gave the South more representation
The Three-Fifths Clause, also known as Article 1, Section 2, is one of the most well-known and controversial aspects of the US Constitution. This clause stated that for the purposes of representation in Congress, three-fifths of a state's slave population would be counted, giving the Southern states more representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. This was a significant advantage for the South, as it gave them more political power and a stronger voice in the government.
The inclusion of this clause was a result of a compromise between the Northern and Southern states during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Southern states, where slavery was a vital part of the economy, wanted to ensure that their slave population was counted for representation, while the Northern states had either abolished slavery or were in the process of doing so. By agreeing to the Three-Fifths Clause, the Northern states may have believed that they were encouraging the eventual abolition of slavery by giving the free states more representation than the slave states.
However, the Three-Fifths Clause had the opposite effect, as it entrenched slavery further into the political and economic fabric of the nation. With the additional representation, the Southern states were able to exert more influence over policies and laws, including those related to slavery. This compromise also set a precedent for future concessions on slavery, as the framers of the Constitution believed that concessions were necessary to maintain the unity of the nation and avoid potential warfare.
The Three-Fifths Clause is just one example of how the Constitution protected and institutionalised slavery, despite the ideals of fairness, justice, and individual rights that it espoused. The framers of the Constitution were aware of the contradiction and went to great lengths to avoid using the words "slavery" or "slave" in the document. Instead, they used euphemisms and oblique references, such as the slave trade or persons held to service, to address the issue.
The Three-Fifths Clause remained in effect until the Civil War and the passage of constitutional amendments that finally abolished slavery. However, the racial inequalities and the legacy of slavery have persisted in the United States, shaping policies and societal attitudes well into the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Framers avoided the word 'slavery' to protect the document's reputation
The Constitution's framers consciously avoided using the word "slavery" or "slave" in the document, recognising that it would sully its reputation. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, pointed out that the framers had left out a majority of Americans when they wrote the phrase, "We the People". He further stated that they consented to a document which laid a foundation for the tragic events which were to follow.
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, states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers sowed the seeds for future conflict. Madison, the "Father of the Constitution", wrote: "It seems now to be pretty well understood that the real difference of interests lies not between the large and small but between the northern and southern states. The institution of slavery and its consequences form the line of discrimination."
The framers were revolutionary thinkers who created what became the first successfully functioning government by the people. Their ideas of fairness, justice, and individual rights are emulated by world leaders today. However, their failure to address slavery directly in the Constitution remains one of the great paradoxes of the Founding Era. The framers' avoidance of the word "slavery" was likely due to embarrassment and a desire to protect the document's reputation. They knew that slavery contradicted the natural rights of all and denied the idea of consent in a republic.
The framers sought to build a constitutional republic of liberty that equally protected the rights of all Americans. They were not proponents of slavery and criticised the institution severely. Many framers harboured moral qualms about slavery, and some, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies. They believed slavery was dying out and that a stronger union of republican self-government would lead to its ultimate extinction. Thus, while the framers avoided using the word "slavery", their intention was to create a regime of liberty that would eventually abolish the institution.
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Many framers were slaveholders
Many of the framers of the US Constitution were slaveholders. Out of 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. The “Father of the Constitution”, James Madison, attacked slavery early in the Convention, stating that:
> We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man.
However, Madison also believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. He wrote:
> It seems now to be pretty well understood that the real difference of interests lies not between the large and small but between the northern and southern states. The institution of slavery and its consequences form the line of discrimination.
The framers were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, southern states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. This belief was echoed by Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, who said that unless the regulation of the slave trade was left to the states, the southernmost states "shall not be parties to the union".
On the other hand, some framers were members of anti-slavery societies. Benjamin Franklin was a former slaveholder, and Alexander Hamilton was born in a slave colony in the British West Indies. John Dickinson had inherited bondsmen but freed them all. Other abolitionists included James Wilson and Gouverneur Morris, the latter of whom called slavery a "nefarious institution". Even among the minority who held slaves, some, such as Madison, favoured gradual emancipation.
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The need for a strong central government
The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, was a compromise between the North and the South. The Southern states, where slavery was pivotal to the economy, threatened to walk out of the Constitution if slavery was threatened. This would have resulted in separate free and slave confederacies, and the free states would have lost all leverage over the slave states to end slavery. Thus, the Framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government.
The "Father of the Constitution," James Madison, attacked slavery early in the Convention, stating that the "mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, [was] a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man." Madison also wrote that the real difference of interests lay between the Northern and Southern states, and that the institution of slavery and its consequences formed the line of discrimination. Many of the Framers harbored moral qualms about slavery, and some, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, became members of anti-slavery societies.
The Framers were revolutionary thinkers who created what would become the first successfully functioning government by the people. Their ideas of fairness, justice, and individual rights are what many world leaders emulate today. The Framers consciously avoided using the words "slave" or "slavery" in the Constitution, recognizing that it would sully the document. Instead, they included clauses that referred to slavery indirectly, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the slave insurrections.
The Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery. During the public debates on the Constitution, an important part of the advocates' successful argument was the need for unity to avoid war. The Framers sought to achieve their highest goal of a stronger Union of republican self-government. They built a regime of liberty that they hoped would lead to slavery's ultimate extinction.
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The belief that slavery would eventually end
The framers 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. By avoiding a direct mention of slavery, the framers aimed for a regime of liberty that would eventually lead to slavery's extinction. They consciously avoided the word "slave," recognising that it would taint the document.
The framers' decision was influenced by the belief that slavery was already dying out. For example, in 1772, the English Court of King's Bench decided Somerset v. Stewart, which abolished slavery in the English homeland. Following American Independence, 10 of the 13 states abolished or heavily taxed the slave trade, and several states began general emancipation. Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman remarked that "the abolition of slavery seems to be going on in the U.S., and that the good sense of the several States would probably by degrees compleat it."
The framers also believed that the Constitution's power to prohibit the slave trade would contribute to the eventual eradication of slavery. James Wilson stated in the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention in 1787 that the Constitution's ability to ban the slave trade would lay "the foundation for banishing slavery out of this country." The framers' compromise was a pragmatic decision to maintain unity and avoid perpetual warfare, trusting that the seeds of liberty planted in the Constitution would ultimately lead to slavery's demise.
However, it is important to recognise that the framers' decision had severe consequences and laid the foundation for tragic events related to slavery. The Constitution's protection of slavery, through clauses like the Three-Fifths Clause and the Fugitive Slave Clause, perpetuated the institution and contributed to the racial inequalities that persist in American society today.
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Frequently asked questions
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.
Yes, the Constitution protected slavery through clauses such as the Three-Fifths Clause, which gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College, and the Fugitive Slave Clause, which required states to return fugitive slaves.
Many of the framers personally opposed slavery on moral grounds. Some, such as Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, were members of anti-slavery societies. However, they prioritized political unity and a strong central government over immediate abolition, resulting in key compromises that protected slaveholding interests.
The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, and the framers intentionally avoided direct references to slavery. However, the Constitution dealt with American slavery in at least five provisions and indirectly protected the institution in other parts of the document.
The Constitution's compromises on slavery entrenched the institution and created a moral and legal crisis that would contribute to the coming of the Civil War. While the Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery, it also ensured that slavery remained a national issue, embedding it deeper into American governance.
