Slavery at the Constitutional Convention
Slavery
One of the most controversial issues at the Constitutional Convention was slavery. Slavery was mainly predominant in the southern part of the United States at the time of the Convention. Of the fifty five delegates at the convention, twenty five of them owned slaves. Just imagining this is mind boggling. One fifth of every state consisted of slaves. Even though slavery had been eliminated up north, slaves still lived there. Most of the slaves lived in the south where one in three families owned slaves. This is a very large percentage. The entire southern economy was based on slaves, making it hard for any southern delegates to want to get rid of it.
Slavery was such a huge issue at the convention that many southern states refused to join the union if slavery was to be abolished. Delegates continued to argue that the Constitution should prohibit the states from participating in the international slave trade. The Convention postponed making a final decision on the international slave trade until later in the Convention. During the Convention's late July recess, the Committee of Detail wrote rules that would prohibit the federal government from attempting to ban international slave trading or putting taxes on the slaves. However, the Convention could not agree on these terms so they took the matter to an eleven person committee for further deliberation.
Another important slavery-related question was whether slaves would be counted as part of the population or if they would be considered property. Delegates from largely populated states argued that slaves should be considered persons when determining representation. Delegates from states where slavery had become obsolete argued that slaves should be included in taxation but not in determining representation.
Delegate James Wilson finally came up with the three fifths compromise. The three fifths compromise was a compromise between southern and northern states. The compromise stated that three fifths
One of the most controversial issues at the Constitutional Convention was slavery. Slavery was mainly predominant in the southern part of the United States at the time of the Convention. Of the fifty five delegates at the convention, twenty five of them owned slaves. Just imagining this is mind boggling. One fifth of every state consisted of slaves. Even though slavery had been eliminated up north, slaves still lived there. Most of the slaves lived in the south where one in three families owned slaves. This is a very large percentage. The entire southern economy was based on slaves, making it hard for any southern delegates to want to get rid of it.
Slavery was such a huge issue at the convention that many southern states refused to join the union if slavery was to be abolished. Delegates continued to argue that the Constitution should prohibit the states from participating in the international slave trade. The Convention postponed making a final decision on the international slave trade until later in the Convention. During the Convention's late July recess, the Committee of Detail wrote rules that would prohibit the federal government from attempting to ban international slave trading or putting taxes on the slaves. However, the Convention could not agree on these terms so they took the matter to an eleven person committee for further deliberation.
Another important slavery-related question was whether slaves would be counted as part of the population or if they would be considered property. Delegates from largely populated states argued that slaves should be considered persons when determining representation. Delegates from states where slavery had become obsolete argued that slaves should be included in taxation but not in determining representation.
Delegate James Wilson finally came up with the three fifths compromise. The three fifths compromise was a compromise between southern and northern states. The compromise stated that three fifths