As America made the transition from colony to independent nation, they had to choose whether they would continue the practice of slavery. Having finally brushed off the tyrannical hand of Britain America sought to be a nation of liberty, where “all men are created equal”, but how far would this sentiment extend? To what extent did America consider slavery in creating the Constitution and what does this say about the relationship between Americans and African Americans at this time?
The first article looks at the colonial practices of slavery in America to get a perspective on what tradition America was taking with them when drafting the Constitution. In the colonial era slave codes controlled the institution of slavery. These codes “defined as slaves “all Negroes, Mullatoes, and Indians” who had been, or were to be, “bought and sold”” (Wiececk & William, 262), separating slaves from humanity. “The slave was a capital investment” (Wiececk & William, 266) and the slave codes reflect this identity. Going into the Constitution we see that for many Americans the view of slaves merely as investments, from the colonial era, persisted.
The second article argues that slavery is supported by the Constitution saying “American War of Independence was barely won before the discourse of slavery made its presence felt in terms of America‘s identity” (Lowance & Pildith, 62). The authors point out the inconsistency in the American ideology, which can at once support freedom and slavery. By avoiding direct confrontation of slavery in the Constitution, the government left room for states to step in and therefore paved the way for slavery.
The third article shows both sides of the argument on this Constitution debate, but feels that overall its significance is overplayed. The author argues that when the Constitution was drafted almost everyone felt slavery was a state problem. Though the Framers knew it was important they did not address it, feeling they did not have the power to do so. In the author’s mind, “slavery was for most players a secondary issue that they could use to great advantage in pressing their respective points” (Mason, 946).
The last of the articles felt slavery was addressed on multiple levels in the Constitution, both direct and indirectly, as a means of compromise necessary to bind the colonies. Not all of the Framers supported the act but they “contended with the snake of slavery… by writing into the United States Constitution implicit protections of the peculiar institution” (Knowles, 310). The Constitution is not specifically pro-slavery but it “nevertheless implicitly accommodated that institution” (Knowles, 322). The article argues slavery can only truly be created by legislation and by the same regards only legislation can denounce slavery.
As evident from these writings, the question of slavery in the Constitution is still debated to this day. Since the document can be freely interpreted or strictly upheld, people are able to get whatever message they want from it. Without examining other writings of the Founders, it can be difficult to get a true interpretation of their intent with the Constitution. At the very least the original Constitution did in fact accommodate slavery, treating slaves as invests rather than men.
References:
Lowance & Pilditch. “Writing the Law: Literature and Slavery in Nineteenth Century America” Australasian Journal of American Studies 27, no. 2 (2008): 66-82.
Wiecek & William M. “The Statutory Law of Slavery and Race in the Thirteen Mainland Colonies of British America” William & Mary Quarterly 34, no. 2 (April 1977): 258-280
Mason, Mathew. “Slavery and the Founding” History Compass 5, no. 4 (September 2006): 943-955
Knowles, Helen J. “The Constitution and Slavery: A Special Relationship” Slavery & Abolition 28, no. 2 (December 2007): 309-328
I think you give different perspectives of how Americans perceive slavery within the constitution or not in the debate. But I think that you need to remember to stay focused on your questions you have posed. Maybe focus on one of the two questions you have posed. I see that you want to look at the constitution and what it states about slavery. But you also want to look deeper into the relationship between Americans and African Americans from how the constitution talks about African American slaves. I agree that people can interpret what the constitution says in different ways and think that this question would be hard to support. I would suggest that you focus your energy on the relationship of Americans and African Americans since the constitution was put into place. I recommend searching Oxford Journals and looking the following article, Slavery by Robin L. Einhorn in the Enterprise & Society Journal. The article was published 9/1/08 in volume 9, issue 3. Here is a quick link to the article, http://es.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/content/9/3/491
ReplyDeleteThis topic is wonderful and will make for a great paper. Originally, the Framers were very careful about avoiding the words "slave" and "slavery" in the text of the Constitution. But there is no doubt that, in my mind, that the Constitution touches upon the institution however vaguely.
ReplyDeleteThe following is a source that may be useful to you. It is available online through ASU:
A Slaveholders' Union: Slavery, Politics, and the Constitution in the Early American Republic by George Van Cleve
The author's work demonstrates that the Constitution was pro-slavery in its politics, its economics, and its law. He shows that the Constitutional provisions protecting slavery were much more than mere “political” compromises—they were integral to the principles of the new nation.
Good luck!
The format of your synopsis is clear and easy to follow. The questions you pose in the first paragraph of your synopsis are interesting and something I think worth expanding upon in your final paper. Analyzing just how much the institution of slavery was considered by the framers of the Constitution and then transitioning into how it reflects a certain relationship between Americans and African Americans is a good way to focus on two sides of the case. The documents you list support this idea because they each illustrate differing perspectives. However, I think it would have helped if you had mentioned in each paragraph what the title of each article to be used was, if only for the sake of added clarity.
ReplyDeleteA document to consider for further insight:
Kaminski, John. “A necessary evil?: slavery and the debate over the Constitution”.
Page 8 has various declarations and constitutions by individual states, some against the continuation of slavery and others with no mention.
Link: (the original URL, from Google Books, was huge so I shrank it down with TinyURL)
http://tinyurl.com/43h42ue
The topic that you picked for your bibliographic review is an interesting one. I like how your topic relates to slavery in the U.S. as opposed to Europe. As a nation, you would think there would be a united stand on topics as important as slavery, however, it looks as though you've found many articles that support different ideas regarding what the constitution in America wanted to relay to the people. A source I found that might be helpful is:
ReplyDeleteParks, John. "The Enslaved and the Free: Lawsuits For Freedom and Petitions for Civil Rights." Conference Papers -- Association for the Study of African American Life & History (2009): 114. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 30 Apr. 2011.
Good luck with the final draft, I really enjoyed the flow of your paper so far and I think it is clear and easy to understand.
Interesting topic choice and one I’d like to know more about myself. The Constitutionality of slavery as formed by the Founding Fathers is a complicated one and I think you have picked some good articles to draw from. Here is another one that discusses the Founding Fathers and the practice of slavery and may be helpful: The Founding Fathers and Slavery, William W. Freehling, The American Historical Review
ReplyDeleteVol. 77, No. 1 (Feb., 1972), pp. 81-93
Your topic is of some difference yet interest. I like the fact that the articles you chose sequetially address the topic at hand. North America was at a time of transition during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, so it is interesting to see what taopics were covered when dealing with the issue of slavery in a "New World". The articles chosen are all of importance to your overall theme, but how will they be assessed. Are you going to compare and contrast the ideas presented in each of the articles? Or will you explain through each article how slavery evolved over time? Great topic with fantastic supporting articles.
ReplyDelete