Effects of Slavery on America
Effects of Slavery on American History
Andrew Avila
US History 1301
Dr. Raley
April 18, 2013
The U.S. Constitution is primarily based on compromise between larger and smaller states, and more importantly, between northern and southern states. One major issue of the northern and southern states throughout American history is the topic of slavery. Although agreements such as the Three-Fifths Compromise in 1787, and the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 were adapted to reduce and outlaw slavery, it took many years for slavery to be completely abolished and allow blacks the freedom they had been longing for. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia in which three-fifths of states’ slaves would be counted as representation regarding distribution of taxes and apportionment of members to the House of Representatives[1]. This meant that slave owners would be taxed on the number of slaves they owned as well as states receiving representation for the allotted 3/5, or “Federal ratio,” of slaves owned. During the Continental Congress of 1783, a committee was appointed to decide upon a method to be integrated in the Articles of Confederation to prevent states from ignoring their fair share of the tax burden. The proposed fix was to tax based on population rather than property value. Delegates who opposed slavery only wanted to count all free inhabitants of each state, while supporters of slavery wanted to count all slaves for representation purposes only and not for taxation. Being that southern states were heavily populated with slaves, naturally, northern states feared that the south would gain a political upper-hand and become extremely powerful[2]. Seeing such opposition from northern and southern states, representatives James Wilson and Roger Sherman came up with a plan that stemmed from the one proposed at the Continental Congress. The Three-Fifths Compromise, which was designed to meet the
Andrew Avila
US History 1301
Dr. Raley
April 18, 2013
The U.S. Constitution is primarily based on compromise between larger and smaller states, and more importantly, between northern and southern states. One major issue of the northern and southern states throughout American history is the topic of slavery. Although agreements such as the Three-Fifths Compromise in 1787, and the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 were adapted to reduce and outlaw slavery, it took many years for slavery to be completely abolished and allow blacks the freedom they had been longing for. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia in which three-fifths of states’ slaves would be counted as representation regarding distribution of taxes and apportionment of members to the House of Representatives[1]. This meant that slave owners would be taxed on the number of slaves they owned as well as states receiving representation for the allotted 3/5, or “Federal ratio,” of slaves owned. During the Continental Congress of 1783, a committee was appointed to decide upon a method to be integrated in the Articles of Confederation to prevent states from ignoring their fair share of the tax burden. The proposed fix was to tax based on population rather than property value. Delegates who opposed slavery only wanted to count all free inhabitants of each state, while supporters of slavery wanted to count all slaves for representation purposes only and not for taxation. Being that southern states were heavily populated with slaves, naturally, northern states feared that the south would gain a political upper-hand and become extremely powerful[2]. Seeing such opposition from northern and southern states, representatives James Wilson and Roger Sherman came up with a plan that stemmed from the one proposed at the Continental Congress. The Three-Fifths Compromise, which was designed to meet the
Bibliography: Peter Robinson. Uncommon Knowledge: A Slave to the System? Thomas Jefferson and Slavery. Hoover Institution, 2009. Garry Wills. “Negro President”: Jefferson and the Slave Power. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, 2003. Herman Belz. Emancipation and Equal Rights: Politics and Constitutionalism in the Civil War Era. New York, 1978. Michael Vorenberg. Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment. Cambridge University Press, 2001. The House Joint Resolution proposing the 13th amendment to the Constitution, January 31, 1865; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-1999; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives Harp Weekly Oman Nathan. Specific Performance and the Thirteenth Amendment. Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming. 2008. Gilder Lehrman Institute. The Three-Fifths Compromise. Digital History. 2013. [2] Peter Robinson. Uncommon Knowledge: A Slave to the System? Thomas Jefferson and Slavery. Hoover Institution, 2009. [5] Herman Belz. Emancipation and Equal Rights: Politics and Constitutionalism in the Civil War Era. New York, 1978. [6] Michael Vorenberg. Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment. Cambridge University Press, 2001. [7] 3Herman Belz. Emancipation and Equal Rights: Politics and Constitutionalism in the Civil War Era. New York, 1978. [8] 3Herman Belz. Emancipation and Equal Rights: Politics and Constitutionalism in the Civil War Era. New York, 1978. [9] Oman Nathan. Specific Performance and the Thirteenth Amendment. Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming. 2008. [10] Oman Nathan. Specific Performance and the Thirteenth Amendment. Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming. 2008.