Jonah Patel
The word slave does not appear in the US Constitution, nor does the word slavery. This is despite the fact that slavery was a major component of the economy and society in the United States when the Constitution was drafted in 1787. The omission of these words was not an oversight. The framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the word slave, recognising that it would sully the document. Instead, they referred to slaves as persons. The Constitution did, however, include several provisions related to slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reason for avoiding the word "slave" | The framers consciously avoided the word, recognizing that it would sully the document. |
| The framers believed slavery was morally wrong and would die out, and they did not want that permanent moral stain on the document. | |
| The framers were embarrassed by the institution of slavery. | |
| The framers did not want the enduring Constitution to have "on the face of the great charter of liberty suggesting that such a thing as negro slavery had ever existed among us". | |
| The framers consented to a document that laid a foundation for tragic events that were to follow. | |
| The Constitution and slavery | The Constitution prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years. |
| The Constitution included the Fugitive Slave Clause, which required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. | |
| The Constitution gave the federal government the power to put down domestic rebellions, including slave insurrections. | |
| The Constitution included the Three-Fifths Clause, which 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. | |
| The Constitution prohibited Congress, until 1808, from banning the "Importation" of slaves from outside the United States. | |
| The Constitution implicitly recognized slavery in provisions such as the Three-fifths Compromise. | |
| The Fugitive Slave Clause provided that slaves held under the laws of one state who escaped to another state did not become free, but remained slaves. | |
| The Constitution included the Slave Trade Clause, which prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" where state governments saw fit to allow it, until 20 years after the Constitution took effect. | |
| The Constitution included the Migration or Importation Clause, which allowed Congress to end the importation of slaves from Africa in 1808. | |
| The Constitution included the Importation of Persons Clause, which did not mention who the "persons" were who might be "imported". | |
| The Constitution included the Fugitive Slave Clause, which referred to "persons held to service or labour" rather than slaves. | |
| The Constitution included the Three-Fifths Clause, which referred to "all other persons" rather than slaves. |
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What You'll Learn
- The word slave was consciously avoided in the Constitution
- The Constitution never used the words slave or slavery because the Framers were embarrassed
- The Constitution indirectly addressed slavery through four clauses
- The Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, provided that slaves were considered less than fully human
- The Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2, required the return of runaway slaves
The word slave was consciously avoided in the Constitution
The word "slave" does not appear in the US Constitution. The framers consciously avoided the word, recognising that it would sully the document. The economic and political realities of slavery also made substantive action impossible during the Constitutional Convention. The Southern economy's reliance on slavery made it politically impossible for the framers to abolish the institution.
Instead, the Constitution included several provisions about unfree persons. The Three-Fifths Compromise, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, allocated Congressional representation based "on the whole Number of free Persons" and "three-fifths of all other Persons". This clause was a compromise between Southern politicians who wished for enslaved African-Americans to be counted as 'persons' for congressional representation and Northern politicians who rejected these out of concern for too much power for the South. The Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3) provided that slaves held under the laws of one state who escaped to another state did not become free but remained slaves. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, is another provision in the original Constitution related to slavery, though it does not use the word "slave". This Clause prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" (understood at the time to mean primarily enslaved African persons) where the existing state governments saw fit to allow it, until some twenty years after the Constitution took effect.
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, South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers left the seeds for future conflict. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, said on the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the US Constitution that the framers consented to a document which laid a foundation for the tragic events which were to follow.
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The Constitution never used the words slave or slavery because the Framers were embarrassed
The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, never used the words "slave" or "slavery" in its provisions, despite slavery being a major component of the economy and society at the time. The Framers consciously avoided using these words, recognising that they would sully the document. Instead, they referred to slaves as "persons".
The Constitution included several provisions related to slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the ban on Congress ending the slave trade for twenty years. These clauses implicitly recognised slavery and protected the institution without directly using the word. The Framers believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want the permanent moral stain of slavery on the document.
The Three-Fifths Clause, or the "Importation of Persons Clause," in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3, provided that apportionment of representatives would be based on the population of free persons, excluding "Indians not taxed" and "three-fifths of all other persons." The "other persons" referred to the African slaves who made up a significant portion of the population in the Southern states. This clause was a compromise between Northern and Southern politicians, with the former wanting slaves to be counted as "persons" for congressional representation and the latter rejecting this due to concerns about giving too much power to the South.
The Fugitive Slave Clause, in Article IV, Section 2, stated 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." This clause did not explicitly mention slavery but was designed to protect the interests of slave owners by requiring the return of runaway slaves.
The Constitution also prohibited Congress from banning the importation of "persons" until 1808, which was a compromise between Southern states, where slavery was pivotal to the economy, and states where abolition was contemplated or had been accomplished. This provision ensured that slavery remained a national issue and embedded it deeper into American governance.
In conclusion, the Framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the words "slave" or "slavery" because they believed that slavery was morally wrong and wanted to distance themselves from the institution. However, they still protected slavery through various clauses and compromises, creating a moral and legal crisis that would contribute to the Civil War and the eventual emancipation of slaves.
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The Constitution indirectly addressed slavery through four clauses
The Constitution of the United States never used the words "slave" or "slavery" in its text. However, it dealt directly with American slavery in at least five of its provisions and indirectly protected the institution in four clauses elsewhere in the document.
The first of these four clauses is the Three-Fifths Clause (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3). This provision 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 power in the House and in the Electoral College.
The second is the Slave Trade Clause (Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 1). This provision prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808.
The third is the Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2). This provision required the return of runaway slaves to their owners.
The fourth is the Slave Insurrection Clause (Article I, Section 8). While it might include slave insurrections, it is also a general statement that the chief executive has the power and duty to suppress all "riots or insurrections" in the interests of maintaining law and order.
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, the southernmost states would refuse to join the Union.
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The Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, provided that slaves were considered less than fully human
The Three-Fifths Clause, also known as the "Three-Fifths Compromise", is a provision in the United States Constitution that has its roots in the country's slavery-ridden past. This clause, found in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, states that representation in the House of Representatives would be based on the population of free persons. Specifically, it included "three-fifths of all other Persons" beyond the "whole Number of free Persons" and "Indians not taxed".
The Three-Fifths Clause was a compromise between the Southern and Northern states, addressing the issue of representation in Congress. At the time, the Southern states had a significant population of enslaved African individuals, who made up around a third of their total population. The Southern states wanted to include slaves in the population counts for representation, while the Northern states, where slavery was less prevalent or non-existent, did not want slaves to be included.
The compromise was that each slave would count as three-fifths of a person when determining the population for representation. This compromise gave the Southern states more representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College, as well as more votes. However, it also had the effect of legally and constitutionally recognising slaves as less than fully human, as they were considered only a fraction of a person.
The Three-Fifths Clause is one of several clauses in the original Constitution that addressed slavery without directly using the words "slave" or "slavery". Other examples include the Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) and the Importation of Persons Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 1). The absence of the word "slave" in these clauses reflects the contentious nature of the issue and the compromises made during the drafting of the Constitution.
The inclusion of the Three-Fifths Clause and other slavery-related provisions in the Constitution has been criticised as laying the foundation for tragic events to follow. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, described the Constitution as "defective from the start" due to its concessions to slavery. These clauses, while aimed at resolving disputes between states, ultimately contributed to the moral and legal crisis that led to the Civil War and had lasting impacts on the nation.
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The Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2, required the return of runaway slaves
The Fugitive Slave Clause, which falls under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, is a provision that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners. This clause was a part of the Compromise of 1790, which resolved issues related to slavery between the North and the South. The clause states:
"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."
This clause effectively made it a legal requirement for citizens and states to return runaway slaves to their owners, and it prevented states from offering freedom or sanctuary to those who escaped slavery. The Fugitive Slave Clause was a significant component of the Constitution that protected the institution of slavery and the property rights of slave owners. It is important to note that the word "slave" is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, including in this clause. Instead, the framers of the Constitution used terms like "Person held to Service or Labour" to refer to slaves, reflecting the contentious nature of the issue and the compromises made during the Constitutional Convention.
The inclusion of the Fugitive Slave Clause in the Constitution highlights the complex and contradictory nature of the founding document, particularly regarding slavery. While the Constitution enshrined certain liberties and rights, it also contained provisions that upheld and protected slavery, which denied those very freedoms to a significant portion of the population. The absence of the word "slave" in the Constitution does not diminish the fact that the institution of slavery was a central and contentious issue during the nation's founding, and it required careful navigation and compromise to draft a document that would be accepted by all parties involved.
In conclusion, the Fugitive Slave Clause, despite its indirect language, clearly addressed the issue of runaway slaves and ensured their return to their owners. This clause, along with other provisions in the Constitution, reflects the complex and compromised nature of the founding document, which aimed to balance the interests of different states and protect certain established institutions, including slavery, at the time of the nation's founding. The absence of the word "slave" does not negate the presence and impact of slavery-related content in the Constitution, and it serves as a reminder of the complex historical context in which the document was created.
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Frequently asked questions
The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution because the framers consciously avoided using it, recognising that it would sully the document. Instead, they referred to slaves as persons.
The framers believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out. They did not want the moral stain of slavery on the Constitution, a document that was meant to embody the freedom of the American people.
The framers were embarrassed by the existence of slavery and avoided mentioning it in the Constitution. They believed that slavery contradicted the principles of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, which stated that "all men are created equal". However, they also recognised that the Southern economy was completely dependent on slavery, making it politically impossible to abolish the institution. This resulted in a moral and legal crisis that contributed to the Civil War.
