Question
During what time did the constitution state that slavery was legal?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The United States Constitution, as originally ratified in 1788, did not explicitly mention the word "slavery," but it included provisions that implicitly protected the institution of slavery. Specifically:
1. **Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2)**: This provision determined that for the purposes of apportioning representation in Congress, enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person. This gave Southern states more political power based on their slave populations.
2. **Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2)**: This clause required that escaped enslaved people be returned to their enslavers, even if they had reached a free state.
3. **Slave Trade (Article I, Section 9)**: The Constitution prohibited Congress from banning the importation of enslaved people before the year 1808, effectively allowing the transatlantic slave trade to continue until then.
The Constitution was amended, and slavery was officially abolished by the 13th Amendment, which was ratified on December 6, 1865. This amendment declared that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime, shall exist within the United States." Thus, slavery was legally allowed in the United States from the Constitution's ratification in 1788 until its abolition in 1865.
1. **Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2)**: This provision determined that for the purposes of apportioning representation in Congress, enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person. This gave Southern states more political power based on their slave populations.
2. **Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2)**: This clause required that escaped enslaved people be returned to their enslavers, even if they had reached a free state.
3. **Slave Trade (Article I, Section 9)**: The Constitution prohibited Congress from banning the importation of enslaved people before the year 1808, effectively allowing the transatlantic slave trade to continue until then.
The Constitution was amended, and slavery was officially abolished by the 13th Amendment, which was ratified on December 6, 1865. This amendment declared that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime, shall exist within the United States." Thus, slavery was legally allowed in the United States from the Constitution's ratification in 1788 until its abolition in 1865.