The Constitutional Convention concludes its work by approving a Constitution that entrenches slavery through multiple provisions despite deliberately avoiding the word “slave” in the document. The most notorious provision is the Three-Fifths Compromise, proposed by delegate James Wilson …
On August 28, 1787, South Carolina delegates Pierce Butler and Charles Pinckney attempt unsuccessfully to include “fugitive slaves” in the Constitution’s extradition clause during Constitutional Convention debates. The following day, August 29, the South Carolina delegation …
Pierce ButlerCharles PinckneyJames MadisonSouth Carolina delegatesCommittee of Stylefugitive-slave-clauseslaveryconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionfederal-complicity+1 more
The Constitutional Convention’s Committee of Eleven, chaired by William Livingston of New Jersey, recommends prohibiting Congress from banning slave importation until 1808—initially proposing twelve years but extending to twenty years after southern delegates demand more time. This compromise, …
Committee of ElevenWilliam LivingstonJohn RutledgeCharles PinckneyRoger Sherman+2 moreslaveryslave-tradeconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionslave-power+1 more
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention reach agreement on the Three-Fifths Compromise, proposed by James Wilson of Pennsylvania and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, establishing that enslaved people will be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional …
James WilsonCharles PinckneyGouverneur MorrisJames MadisonSouthern state delegates+1 morethree-fifths-compromiseslaveryinstitutional-corruptionelectoral-manipulationconstitutional-design+1 more