What role did slavery play in the Constituional convention? How was the issue dealt with in the final version of the Constitution?
2007-06-10 09:10:09 · 3 answers · asked by diamond 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
The legalese at the time used vague expressions of "other persons". One of my possible ancestors in the first census was listed as having a household of two males, three females, and two "other persons".
Look up Slavery and the Constitution by William I. Bowdich, 1986.
Google books has the 1857 book by Thomas Hart Benton, The Dred Scott Case, where there's lots of detailed discussion.
2007-06-10 10:43:47 · answer #1 · answered by Rabbit 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
danae briefly hit on most of it. Most southern states were larger and agrarian with a larger slave population. So the question of representation came up. Do slaves coount, and if so how much. the 3/5th compromise was a band-aid to allow the new constitution to be passed. But all they did was delay the question. They said the government would not address the issue for 20 years (1808) It was a way of making both the Northern states and Southern states happy enough to ratify the constitution. This process of patching would go on till the civil war.
2007-06-10 17:41:51 · answer #2 · answered by ursulthebear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the north wanted slavery abolished, and the south threatened that if that happened, they wouldn't be part of the union, caousing hings to fall apart. So, because the north didn't want the slaves to be counted as people becasue they were trated property, adn the south wanted them to be counted, every 5 slaves would count as 3 people.
So, they dicided that nothing would be done concerning slavery until January 1, 1808, which was final.
2007-06-10 16:15:14 · answer #3 · answered by danae 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋