Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution, which came into force after the American Revolution, has been criticized for its failure to abolish slavery. The Constitution's authors left out the distinction between person and property, thereby protecting slavery. Many of the framers of the Constitution were slave owners, and while some had moral qualms, they ultimately avoided using the word slave in the document. The Constitution's famous preamble, which begins with We the People, excluded a majority of Americans, and the notorious three-fifths clause gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The Constitution's protections for slavery were eventually abolished by the 13th Amendment in 1865, which ended slavery in the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution | The framers consciously avoided the word, recognizing that it would sully the document |
| The Constitution protected slavery | The three-fifths clause gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College |
| The Constitution's authors did not address the distinction between person and property | This omission ultimately protected one of history's most oppressive institutions |
| Many of the framers owned slaves | Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves |
| The framers had revolutionary ideas about fairness, justice, and individual rights | Their ideas are emulated by world leaders today |
| The framers had moral qualms about slavery | Some became members of anti-slavery societies |
| The framers were influenced by Enlightenment philosophies of natural rights and religious convictions | These philosophies contradicted the institution of slavery |
| The framers clarified who was considered a "person" | Fabricating a subservient order for those with darker skin allowed the founding generation to define “all men” and “the people” as “white men” |
| The framers intended for slavery to be eliminated eventually | Abraham Lincoln contended that the Constitution put slavery "in the course of ultimate extinction" |
| The Constitution provided legal grounds for the oppression of African-Americans | The Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) decision stated that African-Americans "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect" |
| The Constitution was interpreted to support the separation of races | Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) made the South’s Jim Crow laws constitutional, allowing for "separate but equal" facilities for whites and African-Americans |
| The Constitution created a central government powerful enough to abolish slavery | The 13th Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery in the United States |
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What You'll Learn
Many of the framers of the Constitution owned slaves
> It is inconsistent with the principles of the Revolution... and dishonorable to the American character to have such a feature in the constitution.
John Rutledge of South Carolina disagreed, insisting that "religion and humanity have nothing to do with this question". Another slaveholder, George Mason of Virginia, spoke out against slavery, saying:
> Slavery... discourages arts and manufactures. The poor despise labor when performed by slaves.
The framers' conflicted stance toward slavery led them to deliberately avoid using direct language about the institution in the Constitution. The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, and the framers used euphemisms like "Person held to Service or Labour" to refer to slaves. They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want a permanent moral stain on the document. However, slavery received important protections in the Constitution, including the notorious 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 also prohibited Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years and included a fugitive slave clause requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners. These measures ensured that slavery remained a national issue, embedding it deeper into the fabric of American governance.
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The Constitution's authors avoided using the word slave
The Constitution's authors consciously avoided using the word "slave" in the document. The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, despite the fact that slavery was a prevalent institution at the time. The framers of the Constitution recognised that the inclusion of the word would sully the document. They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want a permanent moral stain on the document.
The framers of the Constitution held conflicting views on slavery. Many of them, including Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, had moral qualms about slavery and were members of anti-slavery societies. On the other hand, about 25 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves. During the Constitutional Convention, a bitter debate broke out over a South Carolina proposal to prohibit the federal government from regulating the Atlantic slave trade. Luther Martin of Maryland, a slaveholder, argued that the slave trade should be subject to federal regulation and was contrary to America's republican ideals. John Rutledge of South Carolina disagreed, insisting that religion and humanity had nothing to do with the question. He threatened that unless regulation of the slave trade was left to the states, the southernmost states "shall not be parties to the union."
The framers' conflicted stance towards slavery led them to deliberately avoid using direct language about the institution in the Constitution. Instead, they used oblique references and indirect language to address slavery. For example, the Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2 counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards that state's total population for the purpose of representation, giving Southern states more power. The Constitution also included a Slave Trade Clause, which prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808, and a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners. These clauses protected and perpetuated slavery, even though the word "slave" was not explicitly mentioned.
The avoidance of the word "slave" in the Constitution has been a source of controversy and debate. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, criticised the Constitution as "defective from the start" for its failure to include all Americans in its phrase "We the People." Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison burned the document in 1854, calling it "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell." On the other hand, some argue that the Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery, even if it temporarily strengthened the institution.
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The three-fifths clause gave the South extra representation
The Three-Fifths Compromise, or the Three-Fifths Clause, was a compromise struck between the slave-holding states and free states during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The former wanted their entire population to be considered when determining the number of representatives they could send to Congress, while the latter wanted to exclude the slave population from the count since they had no voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards its 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 Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution. It states that "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 compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina.
The Three-Fifths Compromise gave the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College, as the South had a larger slave population. This extra representation gave Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states and enlarged the power of slaveholders in Southern legislatures. This was an issue in the secession of West Virginia from Virginia in 1863.
The Three-Fifths Compromise has been criticised for protecting slavery and contradicting the Constitution's message of inclusivity, justice, and individual rights. The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution or the Three-Fifths Compromise, and some argue that the framers of the Constitution privileged the maintenance of unity over the eradication of slavery. Others argue that the Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery.
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The Constitution's message of inclusivity
The US Constitution opens with a message of inclusivity, establishing "justice" and ensuring "domestic tranquility" for the people. The famous preamble, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America", sets a tone of unity and fairness.
However, the Constitution's authors notably avoided addressing the distinction between person and property, thereby protecting slavery, one of history's most oppressive institutions. The word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, and the framers consciously avoided using it, recognising the contradiction it would create within the document. This absence of explicit mention is one of the great paradoxes of the Founding Era, as many of the framers were themselves slave owners, and the number of slaves continued to grow through natural increase and imports from abroad.
Despite this, the Constitution can be interpreted as a document that sought to put "slavery in the course of ultimate extinction", as Abraham Lincoln contended. The first decades after its ratification saw a rise in freedom, with several northern states banning slavery outright or introducing gradual emancipation schemes. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln during the Civil War, all contributed to the advancement of liberty and equality and set the stage for the eventual abolition of slavery through the 13th Amendment in 1865.
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The contradiction of Enlightenment philosophies with slavery
The Enlightenment, an 18th-century European intellectual movement, greatly influenced the thinking of Thomas Jefferson and other members of the founding generation of the United States. Enlightenment philosophy stressed that liberty and equality were natural human rights. It argued that reason and scientific knowledge, not the state or the church, were responsible for human progress.
However, Enlightenment philosophy also provided a rationale for slavery, based on a hierarchy of races. This contradiction between Enlightenment philosophies and slavery was a significant issue during the American Revolution. On the one hand, the revolutionary generation envisioned a new American government that secured the rights and freedoms of its citizens. On the other hand, these rights and freedoms did not extend to slaves. Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. The framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the word "slave", recognising that it would sully the document. Instead, they used terms like "three-fifths" to refer to the slave population when apportioning representation, giving the South extra representation in the House of Representatives and extra votes in the Electoral College.
The Haitian Revolution of 1791, a slave rebellion against French colonial rule, further highlighted the limitations of Enlightenment ideology when it came to European colonialism. While France's revolutionary government initially denounced slavery, the property-holding 'revolutionaries' ultimately chose to protect their economic interests. Similarly, despite their professed beliefs in natural rights and equality, the American founding generation's commitment to Enlightenment philosophies was limited by their desire to preserve a thriving economy based on racial oppression. This resulted in the exclusion of a significant portion of the population from the rights and liberties promised by the Constitution.
The contradiction between Enlightenment philosophies and slavery was a complex issue that challenged the ideals of the American Revolution and the Enlightenment itself. While the Enlightenment influenced the development of revolutionary ideas and governments, the reality of slavery and the economic interests of those in power limited the extent to which these ideals could be realised. The legacy of this contradiction continues to impact issues today, such as providing equal education for all Americans.
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Frequently asked questions
The authors of the Constitution left out the distinction between person and property, ultimately protecting the institution of slavery. Many of the framers owned slaves, and some believed that the federal government should regulate the Atlantic slave trade.
Critics of the Constitution, including Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, have argued that the document was "defective from the start". While some members of the Constitutional Convention objected to slavery, the document they produced laid the foundation for future tragic events.
While the Constitution created a central government powerful enough to eventually abolish slavery, it also temporarily strengthened the institution. For example, Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution provided for the return of fugitive slaves from the North to the South.
Slavery was abolished through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which was passed at the end of the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but it did not end slavery as it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in a state of rebellion.
