





The Major Debates at the Constitutional Convention



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Stopping the Slave Trade



A deep disagreement arose over slavery. The economy of many of the Southern states depended almost entirely on agricultural products produced by slaves. To protect their economy, the Southern states insisted on two proposals. One was to ban Congress from taxing exports (to protect their agricultural exports). The second proposal was to forbid Congress from banning the importation of slaves. (In fact, the word slave was never used in the Constitution. The proposal was written to prohibit Congress from interfering with the importation of such persons as the states shall think proper to admit.)



When the convention received the draft containing these proposals, another heated debate erupted. Opponents of the ban on exports objected on economic grounds. One delegate said that denying the power to tax exports would take away from the government half of the regulation of trade. Another pointed out that taxing exports could become important when America should become a manufacturing country.



Those opposed to slavery brought up issues of morality. Luther Martin of Maryland said that forbidding Congress from banning the importation of slaves was inconsistent with the principles of the revolution and dishonorable to the American character. Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania said that slavery was a nefarious institution and a curse of heaven on the states where it prevailed. George Mason of Virginia spoke at length about the horrors of slavery and criticized slave owners, who he called petty tyrants, and the slave traders who, he said, from a lust of gain embarked on this nefarious traffic.



Ultimately, the delegates who strongly opposed slavery realized that pressing against it would make it impossible for the states to come together. They worked out a compromise with the Southern states. They agreed that Congress could not tax exports and that no law could be passed to ban the slave trade until 1808. And in a final concession to the South, the delegates approved a fugitive slave clause. It required that any person held to Service of Labour in one State who escapes into another state shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. (The requirement to return fugitive slaves was eliminated when the 13th Amendment abolished slavery.)

https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-25-2-the-major-debates-at-the-constitutional-convention.html Slavery was legal in the British colonies at the time of the revolution. Many in the north were opposed to slavery while the Constitution was being considered but it was one of those issues that couldnt be resolved at that time if the Founders were to ever agree on a Constitution. Imagine the battles and the debates if we were to have a new constitutional convention today.