Posted on 03/02/2018 5:56:27 AM PST by Bull Snipe
The Congress passed legislation outlawing the importation of slaves into the United States or any of it's territories. The law took effect on January 1, 1808.
Wow! Didn’t know the antislavery movement went back that far.
The Brits get all the credit for ending slavery before the U.S. (1819).
Article I, Section 9, Clause 1
"The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person."
Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1781.
ARTICLE 1, Section 9
1: The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
“The Brits get all the credit for ending slavery before the U.S.”
The British Navy was also the force that actually restricted the slave trade on the high seas as well. As such, American ships and crews engaging in the slave trade would be subject to British seizure if they continued. So it was an opportune time for American slavery opponents to push through a ban on imports, to avoid being drawn into a war with Britain over such seizures, which were becoming a growing issue anyway.
By 1812 we were at war with Britain anyway, over their naval seizures and impressment of American sailors.
Jefferson pushed for the inclusion of that clause in the Constitution.
Jefferson was in Paris when the Constitution was written.
The Pennsylvania law making slavery illegal was gradual in it’s abolition. According to the 1840 census, there were still 64 slaves being held in Pennsylvania.
This was not the first step of ending slavery, but it was the first that landed on solid ground. To bad we staggered forward instead of running or jumping to an end of slavery.
Jefferson actively proposed the abolition of the slave trade for several years before the Constitution was written.
From 1819 on our Navy participated in suppressing the slave trade off the African Coast.
Jefferson is the man most singlehandedly responsible for overturning slavery in America. His five words written into the Declaration of Independence set the philosophical foundation in this country for seeing slaves as having innate natural rights, equal to everyone else.
It was on the very basis of those words that Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1781.
It is one of those weird quirks of history that Slave Owner Jefferson was likely most responsible for abolishing the institution, though he didn't apply his own philosophy to his own slave holding. Others did, but Jefferson didn't.
No they didn't. They made noises, but no real abolition till decades later.
This is an aspect I had not previously considered. Thanks for mentioning it. Yes, this was a very touchy time for British/US interaction at sea.
Thanks. You are right about Jefferson. Over his life time, he owned close to 700 slaves. He only freed 10 of them.
Five while he was alive, and five in his will, after his death.
A lot of people, North and South, wanted to end the slave trade. But Jefferson didn't play a role in getting that clause into the Constitution. As president, he did sign the bill ending slave imports into law.
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