Founding1787
Constitutional Convention Debates Slave Trade
During the Constitutional Convention, delegates debated the future of the international slave trade. The resulting compromise prohibited Congress from banning the importation of enslaved people before 1808, reflecting deep moral and political divisions among the Founders.
Why It Matters
The slave trade compromise revealed the fundamental contradiction at the heart of the new republic, as delegates who proclaimed liberty negotiated protections for the institution of slavery that would ultimately lead to civil war.