Many Northern states started to push strongly for the complete abolition of Slavery. The Pennsylvania Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery was one of the first laws that were passed that related to the abolition of Slavery. It permanently prohibited the importation of slaves into the state, it stated that all children born in Pennsylvania were born free, and required Slave holders to register their Slaves to ensure that no Slaves were being imported illegally. Massachusetts followed by completely abolished slavery in 1783, stating that slavery did not agree with the Massachusetts constitution. Other Northern states followed Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, leading to the the prohibition of slave trade in 1807, which banned all slave importation throughout the entire country. Laws were also passed to protect the rights of Slaves, as the direct taxation clause stated that Southern Slaves could not be taxed. Also export taxes were placed to limit the amount that Southern plantation owners …show more content…
Two of these laws were the ⅗ compromise and the Fugitive Slave Act. The fugitive slave act required Northern officials to report any slaves that would run away to the North. The problem with this is that in several instances, corrupt officials would find free slaves, steal their paperwork identifying them as a free slave, and force them into enslavement in the South. The ⅗ compromise led to 3 out of every 5 slaves being counted toward the Southern population. Firstly this showed how Southerners viewed Slaves, they viewed them as though they were ⅗ of a person. This also led to the South having significantly more representation in the House of Representatives, which would allow pro-slavery laws to be passed more easily. Also many of the anti- slavery laws were being broken. One example of this is the Gradual Abolition Act of Pennsylvania, slaveowners would move to a different state for the child of a slave to be born, and then bring them back into Pennsylvania, so the child would be born a slave. 7 years later, the act had to be adjusted to prevent such instances from occurring again. Also, the slave trade was not monitored well and thousands upon thousands of slaves were able to make their way into the South. Lastly, there was a large stigma against Blacks, Whites saw themselves as superior, including one of the founding father, Thomas Jefferson, in one of Jefferson’s writings in 1781