Slavery and the Founding Fathers

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the clauses referring to slavery in the US Constitution and shows how they indicate they were put in reluctantly. The paper explains how although most of the Founding Fathers were opposed to the institution of slavery and believed that it would eventually die out, they chose to compromise on the issue while drafting the Constitution in order to preserve the Union.

From the Paper:

"When the American colonies decided to break away from the British in 1776, the economy of the South was heavily dependant on slave labor who worked in large numbers on cotton and tobacco plantations. A majority of white people in the South were, therefore, supporters of slavery. On the other hand, the economy of the Northern states was more industrialized and did not depend on slave labor as much as in the South. In fact, as the North employed 'free labor' slavery was considered 'unfair competition' and most people in the Northern states were against slavery (Spicer 2004). However, as the Southern states made the continuance of slavery a pre-condition for joining the Union, the Northern states and the founding fathers agreed to sweep the issue of slavery under the carpet."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Boyd, S.L. (1995). "A Look Into the Constitutional Understanding of Slavery". Ashbrook Center. Retrieved on December 12, 2007 from http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/respub/v6n1/boyd.html
• "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription." (n.d.) The National Archives Experience. Retrieved on December 12, 2007 from http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html
• "The Constitution and Slavery: Ratification Debate on the U.S. Constitution." (n.d.) Constitutional Rights Foundation. Retrieved on December 12, 2007 fromhttp://www.crf-usa.org/lessons/slavery_const.htm
• Horton, J. O. (2007). "Race and the American Constitution: A Struggle towards National Ideals." History Now. September 2007. Retrieved on December 12, 2007 fromhttp://www.historynow.org/09_2007/historian3.html
• Spicer, J. (2004). "The Cause of the American Civil War: John Spicer Judges That Slavery Was the Key Factor in Producing the Conflict." History Review, (49), 45+.

More papers on Slavery and the Founding Fathers:

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