Philadelphia Convention Essay

It is well-known that over 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers perished in the American Civil War. (“Council on Foreign Relations”) However, most people do not care to ask: could compromises made in the U.S. Constitution be partially responsible for these many deaths? After the unsuccessful implementation of the Articles of Confederation, the United States Congress held a meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1787 to search for ways to revise the Articles, and perhaps create a new Constitution. This meeting was called the Philadelphia Convention, and was attended by fifty-five delegates from the states, now called the Framers of the Constitution. During the Philadelphia Convention, there was an obvious divide between the Northern and

Slavery began in the Americas long before the establishment of the United States, but by the time the Philadelphia convention took place, many of the Northern states had officially ended the practice. (124) The Northern states had, as has been stated, more diverse economies which were not based solely upon farming, so they could afford to abolish slavery in their districts. However, the Southern states were heavily dependent upon slave labor to ensure the success of their plantation farming. “Defenders of slavery argued that the sudden end to the slave economy would have had a profound and killing economic impact in the South where reliance on slave labor was the foundation of their economy. The cotton economy would collapse. The tobacco crop would dry in the fields. Rice would cease being profitable.” (“The Southern Argument for

In order to please the Northern states, the Framers decided to allow the Federal Government to impose tariffs and collect taxes. According to Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, “The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow money on the credit of the United States; To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes…” (“Signed Copy of the Constitution”) In order to satisfy the Southern states, the Framers created the “Three-Fifths Clause” and the “Fugitive Slave Clause”. “Representatives and direct taxes shall be appointed 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.” (Article 1, Section 2) Thus, three-fifths of the slaves in the United States, the majority of which were located in the South, would be counted towards the