Table of Contents
When did the Constitution use the word slavery?
In its draft form, Article I, Section 9 referred to “prohibiting the importation of slaves,” but the word was struck and “Persons” substituted. The first direct mention of slavery in the Constitution appeared 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified.
How are slaves and slavery referred to in the Constitution?
The Constitution refers to slaves using three different formulations: “other persons” (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3), “such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit” (Article I, Section 9, Clause 1), and a “person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof” (Article IV.
What does Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution say about slavery?
Article one, section two of the Constitution of the United States declared that any person who was not free would be counted as three-fifths of a free individual for the purposes of determining congressional representation. The “Three-Fifths Clause” thus increased the political power of slaveholding states.
What did the first Constitution say about slavery?
The first U.S. national government began under the Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781. This document said nothing about slavery. It left the power to regulate slavery, as well as most powers, to the individual states. After their experience with the British, the colonists distrusted a strong central government.
How did the founders treat slavery in the Constitution?
How did the Founders treat slavery in the Constitution? It was so divisive they did not mention it directly. the Three-Fifths Compromise.
What is the 5th article of the Constitution?
Article V says that “on the Application of two thirds of the Legislatures of the several States, [Congress] shall call a Convention for proposing amendments.” The convention can propose amendments, whether Congress approves of them or not. Those proposed amendments would then be sent to the states for ratification.