Debating Slavery
The slavery issue played a part in the
debate over whether to make a strong federal government or to give the states more
power to govern themselves. One reason for
demanding more state control was to make
it impossible for the federal government to
abolish slavery. Then Southern states could
keep slavery legal without worrying about
the federal government forcing them to end
slavery.
Slavery came up again when the delegates
discussed commerce—the buying and selling of goods. At the time, slavery and the
slave trade were important aspects of U.S.
commerce. So when delegates began to
discuss how the government should control
commerce, they also had to debate the issue
of slavery.
Copyright 2010 WGBH Educational Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
© 2010 JupiterImages Corporation
Anti-slavery delegates felt that slavery was
immoral and should be outlawed. Pro-slavery
delegates wanted the federal government to
protect their right to own property. Enslaved
people were property, they said, and no
one had the right to take away someone’s
property. Delegates who did not believe that
human beings could be someone’s property
had to figure out a way to end slavery without violating property rights.
Architect of the Capitol
In 1787, 55 state delegates met in Philadelphia
to draft the U.S. Constitution. The issue of
slavery showed up in almost every discussion, from commerce to representation in
Congress.
The delegates to the Constitutional convention did not
abolish slavery.
Finally, slavery came up during the debate
about how to represent each state in Congress.
Should big states get more representatives,
or should every state have equal representation? Should enslaved people be counted in a
state’s population even when they could not
vote?
After much hard work, the delegates reached
compromises on these three issues.