What did the delegates at the Constitutional Convention decide about slavery?
The Constitutional Convention debated the issue of slavery over almost a week. In the end, the delegates reluctantly agreed to allow slavery for the sake of South Carolina and Georgia. We moderns and post-moderns can debate all we want, but the case is that the Convention came very close to abolishing slavery. Its acceptance of the “peculiar institution” was an anomaly of epic proportions. Show Though the Times said nothing critically new about slavery—the New Left has been saying such things since the mid to late 1960s—the paper’s claims, now understood by many as simply the truth, are a bit shocking as well as disconcerting. In particular, I would note, the 1619 Project firmly centers American History around Virginia’s history, relegating that of, say, New England, New York, or New Mexico to something only marginally quaint. Where, in all of this pro-slavery hysteria, are we to find the immigrants, the American Indians, etc. Given the demanding contributions of, say, Philadelphia Quakers and abolitionists to thwart and destroy the system of slavery, the historian is forced to throw up his or her hands in extreme frustration. America, after all, has a stronger tradition of anti-slavery—especially given the circumstances of the Civil War—than of slavery. I am indebted, on this point, to my excellent colleague at Hillsdale, Miles Smith IV, who had made this point repeatedly on social media. Even during the American Founding, however, the question of slavery was a difficult—if not impossible—one. Of course, of the four organic laws—the Declaration (which condemns slavery and proclaims the natural right of ALL); the Articles of Confederation; the Northwest Ordinance (which forbids slavery in the territories); and the Constitution (which allows for slavery in three specific instances)—only the Articles of Confederation are neutral on the subject, though, given the passage of the Northwest Ordinance, one might very well interpret the Articles as anti-slavery. Thus, the sum documentary evidence of the Founding seems to be adamantly anti-slavery. Even the Constitution’s three compromises on the issue—counting a slave as 3/5 of a person, allowing the importation of Africans until, at the least, January 1, 1808, and the fugitive slave clause—seem to anticipate its demise rather than promote its health. Of these three mentions, only the fugitive slave clause is troubling, but it wouldn’t be enforced with any seriousness until 1850, and, then, with absolutely dire consequences for the institution and the country. Slavery, as an institution, declined rapidly between 1763 and 1793, the exact period of the American Founding, and many of the Founders understandably believed that God or nature had decreed a proper death for the inhumanity of it all. Its decline came from a strong surge in feelings about Natural Rights and Natural Law. Common Law, of course, had outlawed slavery as an abomination, but the spread of Revolutionary ideas, leading up to the Revolution itself, strongly influenced slave holders to manumit their slaves, according to the principles of nature itself. Only South Carolina and Georgia, in the time period, continued to promote slavery as an institution. The other eleven states, especially through voluntary associations, such as the Abolitionist movement, saw dramatic decreases in the institution as a whole, and many northern states would soon ban slavery completely. During the debates, though, numerous founding fathers expressed their disgust with slavery. As Madison reports:
Not alone, Governor Morris said something quite similar, and in equal anger:
The Constitutional Convention debated the issue of slavery over almost a week. From August 8 through August 13, the convention raged. In the end, though, the delegates reluctantly agreed to allow slavery for the sake of South Carolina and Georgia. We moderns and post-moderns can debate all we want, but the case is, the convention came very close to abolishing slavery. Its acceptance of the “peculiar institution” was—to be sure—an anomaly of epic proportions. For better or worse (ok, for worse), the convention voted to allow slavery in order to incorporate South Carolina and Georgia. For some, such as Virginia’s George Mason, the Constitutional provision of slavery was enough to become an Anti-Federalist. The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now. The featured image is “The Captive Slave” (1827) by John Simpson, and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. All comments are moderated and must be civil, concise, and constructive to the conversation. Comments that are critical of an essay may be approved, but comments containing ad hominem criticism of the author will not be published. Also, comments containing web links or block quotations are unlikely to be approved. Keep in mind that essays represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Imaginative Conservative or its editor or publisher. How did most of the delegates feel about slavery?But many of the delegates were opposed to slavery, including some slaveholders from Virginia, and a few roundly condemned the “peculiar institution” on the floor of the Philadelphia Convention. None of the antislavery delegates called for a condemnation or prohibition of slavery to be written into the Constitution.
What did the delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed to?The delegates quickly agreed that each house of Congress should be able to originate bills. They also agreed that the new Congress would have all the legislative powers of the Confederation Congress and veto power over state laws.
How did the constitutional delegates divide over the issue of slavery?Three-fifths compromise, compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and the Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention (1787) that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.
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