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The original version of the Constitution is a result of a series of compromises made to achieve a document that would be voted by the majority of the newly emerged states. Slavery was a very sensitive issue, as it was widely common on the continent. It should be noted that the Declaration of Independence made it clear that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Although this progressive view was shared by many of the members of the Constitutional Convention, it is clear that the original text of the American Constitution is rather pro-slavery and up to a certain point protects the slave-owners. It is of utmost importance to note that the words slavery/slave are not used in the text of the Constitution. The two factors that shape the Constitution as being pro-slavery: the necessity of the slaveholders to protect their private property by the means of the law and the limited support of the North for the abolition at the time of the drafting of the Constituti...
Slavery’s Constitution by David Waldstreicher can be identified as a very important piece of political analytical literature as it was the first book to recognize slavery 's place at the heart of the U.S. Constitution. Waldstreicher successfully highlights a number of silences which most of the general public are unaware of, for example, the lack of the word “slavery” in the Constitution of the United States of America. Also, the overwhelming presence and lack of explicit mention of the debate of slavery during the construction of the document.
To be frank I think the entire first Document of the Declaration of Independence is extremely hypocritical. Nowhere stated in the excerpt, were slaves pointed out, but instead “all Men”. Does this “all men” include those of color as well, and not just whites? This document alone is hard evidence of why many believe Jefferson as being pro-slavery. On the other hand, Jefferson was entitled to have slaves, because that is pretty much what everyone practiced during this time. Yes, he knew slavery was complete and utterly wrong, but slavery was also popular among rich white men. As time passed Jefferson began the process of wanting to abolish slavery and even free some of the slaves that
When the Founding Fathers got together at Philadelphia to draft the Constitution, they had many different views and opinions as to how to govern our country. At the convention, the founders fought over the issues of slavery, representation and the Congress’s powers. Their personal lives had influenced their ideas and some of the compromises made at the Constitutional Convention. The founders’ different personal experiences, economic backgrounds, and coming from states of different sizes, economy and needs, led to the creation of the Three-Fifths Compromise, The Great Compromise, and the Slave Trade Compromise.
When the new Constitution was drafted, the ratification, the official approval by the people of the United States, sparked a national debate. People were shocked by the radical changes it proposed; they expected the convention to merely amend the Articles of Confederation. They were afraid of regressing back into a state under tyranny, a form of rule where a single or small group reigns with vast or absolute power. Americans had just fought for their freedom from the tyrannical rule of the king of England. All their efforts and revolutionary ideas would have gone to waste.
The contradictions between slavery and freedom are very apparent throughout history. America started out with the intentions of becoming separate and equal. To become this kind of nation they needed a crop that would give them something to trade with the other countries. The most obvious choice was tobacco and to produce this demanding crop they used a lot of slave labor. Morgan states 'To a very large degree it may be said that Americans bought their independence with slave labor (122).' America was so obsessed with being free and equal it looks like they would go to any length to obtain it. Another example would be certain slave owners. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington all owned slaves. This is interesting especially with Jefferson who had a major role in republican liberty. Another contradictory point made by Morgan is how England which prides itself in the l...
"The American constitution recognized slavery as a local constitution within the legal rights of the individual states. But in the North slavery was not adaptable to the local economy, and to many, it contradicted the vision of the founding fathers for a nation in which all men are to be free. The South considered slavery as a necessary institution for the plantation economy. It was linked to the local culture and society. As the United states expanded, the North worried that the South would introduce slavery into the new territories. Slavery had become both a moral issue and a question of political power." (Kral p61)
Slavery was a dominant part of the political and social arenas of 1800’s America. However, it was not homogenous as it divided America into two distinct groups: those who supported it and those who did not. Traditionally, the states in the north had been anti-slavery while the states in the south had been pro-slavery. Southern life and economy depended on slavery and therefore staunchly supported the continued legal status of slavery. The northern states on the other hand recognized the inhumane nature of slavery and campaigned to establish equality for all citizens. In order to establish solid reasoning for their stance, both pro-slave and anti-slave groups turned to theological inspiration for their actions. The Bible inspired both pro-slavery advocates and anti-slavery abolitionists alike. Religion was used in order to justify slavery and also to condemn it.
The US constitution was written with great vision to create strong nation. The bill of right were written, it provide all humans with rights. The writers of the constitution we hypocrites, they didn’t abide by what they preached. Thomas Jefferson wrote himself “ all men are created equal” but he owned slaves. The founding father didn’t look or even think about slavery when they wrote the constitution. They were pre-occupied in getting the southern state to join the union and sign the new constitution. They southern states believed that the federal government shouldn’t mess with the issue on slavery because slavery was a state issue.
“All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights,” (Thomas Jefferson) This is the famous statement made by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. He is being extremely hypocritical here considering he himself owned a near two hundred slaves. The slaves are still owned and treated as ‘property’. Thomas Jefferson did not have care for the slaves. The equalities discussed in the Declaration were not aimed to all men, they were aimed at specific white men. Frederick Douglass a former slave excellently asks in reaction to Jefferson; “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” What he means by “Us” is African American, it could also mean slave considering he was one. It is just so perfectly put because it is obvious the beliefs of Jefferson were not extended to African American’s or slaves. He continues on rather sarcastically “confess the benefits”, this is important because there was very little benefits. (Frederick Douglass, 1852,
Furthermore, the creation of The Constitution caused much debate between the elite and democratic states because they thought that if the Government got all of the power, they would lose their rights. The conflict between the North and South played a major role in the development of this document. The North felt that representation in Congress should be based on the number of total people and South felt that it should be based on number of whites. However, The Three Fifths Compromise settled this when it was said a slave will count as 3/5 of a free person of representatives and taxation. Article one section two of the Constitution defines how the population will be counted, obviously there was a strong opposition to this by Southern states like Virginia because their economy was based on slave labor and they had a bigger population because of it.
“We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” If the confusion has not yet set in, then give it a moment. This nation, the United States of America, prides itself on being far superior to all other nations because here in America we are free men. We set ourselves on a pedestal above Great Britain because the Declaration of Independence clearly states that everyone inside the parameters of our country will be treated as equal as the same individuals neighbor. Yet for nearly three centuries, our nation was full of individuals, including our forefathers, who “owned” people that were regarded as less than themselves simply due to the fact that the pigments in their skin did not allow them to fall within the Caucasian race. The very legal document that had the word “Independence” written within it’s name and blatantly stated that it is obvious that no human is greater than any other because we were all made by the same god for the same reason, is the foundation of a nation that used innocent lives as fuel for slavery. It wasn’t until some educated individuals finally stood up and realized how incredibly wrong these two concepts are when put together. It is said that when the former slave Frederick Douglass
According to Document B, the Declaration of Independence supports the equality of every person. It claims as a “self evident truth” that “all men are created equal”. This brings forth the point that it is inequality for one person to own another person. If they are equal, why is one in servitude to another? The Declaration of Independence claims that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights;that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The first of these unalienable rights as mentioned is life. Life is defined as existence; however, alive is defined as having interest and meaning. While it is true that slaves were alive as they were capable of breathing and other human functions, they were not truly alive. Their life did not truly have meaning as they were not permitted to seek out what they could do with their lives. The second of their rights was the right of liberty (the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views). Slaves were not allowed to read or seek out their lives. By the definition of liberty, slaves did not have liberty, thus violating their unalienable right to liberty. The third of their rights that was taken from them is the right to pursue happiness. If, to them, happiness meant the ability to read and write, the ability to keep their families together, and the ability to leave when they wished, they were not given the chance to pursue their happiness. Not everyone gets to be happy; however, they are promised the ability to pursue being happy. Whenever they attempted to escape, they were punished, When they, like the 13 colonies did, tried to rebel against their oppressive overlords, were punished, and often killed. However, the contradiction between the nation’s ideals and slavery goes farther back
The Constitutional Convention was undertaken as an attempt to fix the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by drafting a new governing document - the Constitution. Naturally, there were several debates about how the Constitution should address the prevailing issues at the time. The framers present at the Constitutional Convention did purposely leave some issues unresolved in the summer of 1787 by leaving some ambiguity. However, the purpose of this ambiguity was to allow some room for the new nation to grow. This statement is exhibited by the many compromises and events concerning slavery in the following years, the debates that occurred after the ratification of the Constitution concerning the exact powers granted to the federal government
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” when they wrote "All men are created equal," they really meant men; but they didn't mean just any men, they meant white men who owned land. That's what they meant. My kind the Bluegum, Thicklip, Monkey the NEGRO was never intended to be included. The fact that we began the Constitution with, "We, the People" . . . even though they didn't mean me! They had no idea we wanted our share too on the claim, had they knew they would of been mortified. Yet the Emancipation Proclamation declared “all persons held as slaves are henceforward shall
Knowles, H. J. (2007). The Constitution and Slavery: A Special Relationship. Slavery & Abolition, 28(3), 309-328. doi:10.1080/01440390701685514