Alexander Hamilton said the three-fifths compromise was necessary. Without it, he said, no union could possibly have been formed.
Slavery also became an issue when the delegates began discussing the powers of the national legislature. Once again, the delegates asked: Are slaves people? Or are they property? The answer would affect import taxes and the growth of new states.
The delegates accepted several compromises on these questions, too. They agreed that the treasury could collect a tax of $10 for every imported slave. They also agreed that slaves could be imported until 1808. Then no new slaves could be brought into the country.
Until then, each state had the power to make its own decisions about slavery. After 1808, the national government would make all the decisions.
Constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar says that agreement is where the delegates went wrong.
“What was the founders’ biggest mistake? Not that they didn’t get rid of slavery immediately. It was already a part of their world. It would have been difficult to get rid of slavery immediately. But what they didn’t do is come up with a long-term plan to get rid of slavery eventually.”
Debate on the constitution continued through the summer of 1787. At the same time, some of the delegates raised an important question. Once the document was written, who would approve it?
The state legislatures? The people? Or, as Gouverneur Morris proposed, one big national convention? Elbridge Gerry opposed giving that power to the people. "The people," he said, "have the wildest ideas of government in the world."
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25