Representation And Slavery: The Articles Of Confederation

Under the Articles of Confederation, written in 1777, the United States of America was in dire need of a strong centralized power and a more structured government. 55 delegates rallied to this need and started the Philadelphia Convention, where the motive was to form a better government that would meet the needs of its people. With this motive in mind, the Constitution of the United States was drafted, but there was still a long road till it was signed into law in 1788. In order to make the Constitution legitimate, it would need to be ratified by all 13 states. Combining all the needs of each colony was an intricate compromise, but it was these compromises that made it acceptable by so many. The genius of the Constitution is most found in the compromise involving representation and slavery because the compromise persuaded the southern states to ratify the constitution, it created a functional legislature, and it ultimately ended slavery in the US. The most powerful compromise the constitution, and the one that highlights its brilliance most clearly is that of slavery and representation because it influenced the southern states to accept the Constitution. In the 18th century, Southern states consisted of 40% slaves. One of the largest arguments at the Convention was about representation, specifically about slaves. The Virginia Plan, proposed by James Madison, suggested that representation in Congress should be determined by population, which favored large states, like Virginia and New York. Opposed to this plan, William Paterson proposed a small state plan, the New Jersey Plan. This plan suggested that states would have equal representation in Congress, no matter size or population. This dispute led to the Connecticut Compromise, which entailed a bicameral legislature composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives would be in consideration of the Virginia Plan, where the number of representatives would be based on each state 's population. The Senate would favor the New Jersey Plan, allowing for equal representation from all states. After this compromise was made, a new situation was brought forth- would slaves count towards population? As stated before, 40% of the population in the southern states were slaves. In this time period, slaves were defined as property, just like a person 's land or furniture. So, the constant reasoning would be that slaves wouldn’t be counted as population. But, in spite of this mentality, the southern states were …show more content…
In the Constitution, Congress was given the power to directly tax imports on slaves and the ability to ban slavery altogether in 20 years. This portion of the Constitution appealed to abolitionists which persuaded them to ratify. Because of this power, the abolitionists were able to gain support for their cause. Also, concluded in the ⅗ the compromise, slavery was more discouraged because it caused the state to pay higher taxes because slaves were counted as 3/5 ths a person in taxation. Clearly, the Constitution tried to remain impartial to slavery because ratification of the southern states were needed, but the Constitution gave the potential to oppress slavery which ultimately led to its downfall. Obviously, since the 19th century, when slavery was officially outlawed, in America, slavery has been looked down on and as a dark time in this nation 's history. For this reason, the compromise of representation and slavery can be applauded and as a result of the genius writing of the