Congressional Attempts to Limit the Slave Trade

One year before the Pilgrims landed at. Plymouth and wrote One year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth and wrote the Mayflower Compact, the first African slaves arrived in Virginia to work the tobacco plantations.

From the very beginning of the country, territorial expansion forced a question: “What are we going to do about slavery (in the new territory)?”

Such being the case, knowing the territories that were added to form the current U.S. AND what was done to answer this question in each case is kind of a big deal!

Even before the Constitution was written, Congress attempted to limit the expansion of slavery, passing the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 under the Articles of Confederation. This ordinance prohibited slavery north of the Ohio River in the Northwest Territory.

When the Constitution was written in 1787, Congress was granted authority to regulate the slave trade (Article I section 9) but not eliminate it before 1808.

When Constitutionally authorized to do so (at the urging of President Jefferson), Congress banned the importation of slaves into the United States (the international slave trade) in 1808!

As new states were added to the Union, the question of slavery came up time and again. When Missouri petitioned for statehood, James Tallmadge (The Tallmadge Amendment) insisted that Missouri could join the Union, but only as a free state.

The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but disallowed slavery north of Missouri’s southern border for any new state joining the Union (effecting the territory of the Louisiana Purchase).

Therefore, the Missouri Compromise answered the question in the Louisiana Purchase: no slavery above 360 30’ North Latitude; slavery okay below that line.

Despite a “gag rule” imposed by Congress in 1836 that squelched further consideration of the slavery issue, John Quincy Adams proposed a Constitutional Amendment that no person could be born into slavery after 1845. Congress refused to consider the proposal.

In 1846, James K. Polk requested funds from Congress to prosecute the war against Mexico. David Wilmot of Pennsylvania added an amendment to the bill disallowing slavery in any territory taken from Mexico as a result of the war. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House, but not the Senate.

When the “Mexican Cession” came into the U. S When the “Mexican Cession” came into the U.S. in 1848, the Compromise of 1850 answered the question: Slavery would be left up to the voters of each new state (“Popular Sovereignty”).

Since “popular sovereignty” worked really well in the sparsely populated regions of the west, lawmakers decided to revisit the Louisiana Purchase and try it there, as well!

Effectively nullifying the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act opened areas that were previously off-limits to slavery.

North South Political Social Economic Strong Central Government; National government superior to state governments Anti-slavery; strong work ethic; strong ethic of individualism; urban lifestyle Manufacturing-based; strong infrastructure for transportation, communication, and trade South Strong State Governments; Central government subservient to state governments Pro-slavery; relaxed casual lifestyle; tight-knit, small communities; rural lifestyle Agricultural economy; weak infrastructure; poor communication and transportation