The Constitution and the New Nation After the American Revolution, the movement to abolish slavery gained momentum in the North. In the South, though, where the black majority lived, slave owners re-asserted their rights. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, southerners forced several compromises that laid the foundation for a new nation: a nation which espoused liberty, but practiced bondage. Although the word slavery does not appear in the Constitution, Georgia and South Carolina delegates insisted that a proportion of their slave population be factored in to determine representation in Congress. The Fugitive Slave Clause affirmed the rights of slaveholders to reclaim runaways. And southerners won a constitutional guarantee that the slave trade, which had resumed after the war, could continue unabated for the next 20 years. In 1780, Massachusetts approved a new constitution, which borrowed from the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Bill of Rights, stating that all men are born free and equal. Relying upon this language, Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker successfully sued for emancipation. That same year, Paul Cuffe, a free black businessman in Boston, pushed for voting rights by requesting that he and his brother be excused from paying taxes, because they had no voice or influence in the election of those who tax us. By 1790, more than 59,000 African Americans lived free. Venture Smith and his family had settled into modest prosperity in Haddam, Connecticut, where he helped build the church where he was later buried. Benjamin Banneker distinguished himself as a scientist, almanac writer, and surveyor of the nations new capital. Free blacks status and social standing varied by region. Most everywhere, though, they were from excluded from public schools, denied the right to vote, and faced racism and legal discrimination. Their hold on freedom was so vulnerable that some considered emigrating to Africa. In spite of inequality and hardship, free African Americans were in most cases far better off than their 800,000 brethren who lived in bondage. By 1810 the free black population had swelled to 186.446, but slavery too, continued to flourish and spread westward with the growing new nation.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 02:04:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015