A modern-day Supreme Court justice, Clarence Thomas, came from a family whose ancestors included slaves. Justice Thomas says slavery made no sense in America.
“How can you have a free country with slaves? We understood that. It’s a contradiction — it contradicts the very founding premise of the country.”
The Articles of Confederation said nothing about slavery. Each state could decide to allow it or not. Massachusetts, for example, made slavery illegal. Nine other states stopped importing new slaves. Only three states -- Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina -- continued to import slaves.
The issue was never easy to discuss. Some of the most important men in America -- including George Washington and James Madison -- owned slaves. No one wanted to insult these men. Yet the delegates at the convention had to make some decisions about slavery.
Slavery affected laws on trade and taxes, as well as the question of representation in Congress. If the number of representatives in the House was based on a state's population, who would you count? Would you count just free people? Or would you count slaves, too?
Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University, calls slavery “the original sin” of America’s founders.
“They inherited it, to be sure, and they worried about it, but not enough.”
During the debate, some delegates argued that slaves were property and should not be counted for purposes of representation. Others argued that slaves were people and should be counted with everyone else.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25