What Are The Three Clauses In The Us Constitution

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SLAVERY SANCTIONED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION The American constitution before the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments reveals ambiguous clauses regarding the holding of slaves since the words slaves and slavery fails to appear in the constitution. The issue that arises is whether the framers of the document debated about the extent to which slavery could be permitted or prohibited in the constitution. Consequently, a compromising document was created to represent the interest of the nation they had predicted. Expounding the framers and the constitution’s views about slavery needs an explicit approach to the three clauses in the document that deal with the issue. This paper analyses the three-fifths compromise, the slave trade clause and the fugitive-slave rule. The claim in this paper is that though the constitution failed to mention slaves and slavery, it tactically sanctioned the whole process. The three clauses points to the framers intent in the formulation of the constitution claiming that it never…show more content…
Constitution). The clause explicitly explains that no individual held in service, which means slavery, or labour in a given state can elope into another state and be relieved of his duties. According to the clause, even if a slave escapes to a state that prohibits slavery, the persons ought to be returned to their rightful owners. According to the clause, a slave is still a slave no matter where they are, as long as the slaves have a master. The wording of the clause was very ambiguous, and it included apprentices, and anyone else bound to service for a finite time, as such the clause drew no clear boundary between free persons and non-free. The ambiguity of the clause lies in the way it is understood. The clause acknowledges the existence of slaves in America and just like the previous two clause; the word slavery is not directly

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