Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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In the final document the conventional delegates neglected the issue of represtation. They had not decided on a ratio of representatives per people in each state. In addition, no decision had been settled about the importation of slaves. Importation continued, causing contention between the north and south. Not only did this strenghten the division between the nation, it also fostered the continuation of slavery. MOre slaves were being imported, and eventually the African American population reached a couple million.
ReplyDeleteThe final document did not address the issue of slavery. The document never even formally mentioned the word "slave". The delegates omitted the topic of when slavery should be ended and did not mention the importation of slavery. Importation did continue for some time and this caused problems between the Northern and Southern States because the North was so opposed to slavery while the South depended on their slaves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carly on the point she brings up. The delegates did not mention anything about the ratio of representatives per people in each state. This caused tension between the smaller and larger states because they still did not see eye to eye on the topic of representation based on population.
ReplyDeleteIn the class discussion on the constitution we touched on things that were missing, however the most important was that there were no rights of the citizens of America. The delegates set up the government but forgot about what rights all citizens have no matter the state they live in. This could defintly cause a few issues legally.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grant the constitution did not deal with slavery but pretty much put it off for a later date. He also brings up a good point that this also brought more tension between the north and the south
ReplyDeleteThe final document neglects to place a universal currency for the country. The delegates allow for each state to process its own form of paper money. This could allow for tension between the states when merchants and traders travel throughout all 13 states as to the exchange rate. Though not a major problem for the states, it was still present.
ReplyDeleteI think Ricky brings up a very valid point, and when the delegates realized that this could be a monumental problem for the development of our country, they established the first amendments to the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteThe final draft of the Constitution failed to put in any mention of issues pertaining to slavery. It provided no guidelines to how the country should address slaves in terms of censuses and voting, and it also failed to decide whether slaves should continue to be imported or not. I think this was a pretty important issue that should have been addressed since it was relevant to a growing group of people who made up a huge number of the South's population and were also the backbone of that region's economy.
ReplyDeleteRicky makes a good point. Without first guaranteeing the natural rights of the citizens, how can any kind of justice be ensured?
ReplyDeleteThe final draft of the Constitution did not include the issue of slavery. And as Grant said they did not even mention the word "slave." They did not decide on whether they should continue or get rid of the importation of slaves. So importation continued and it caused a division between north and south and it put more tention on the county as well.
ReplyDeleteJust like everyone else said, Ricky makes a good point. Ensuring rights to citizens is neccesary to form a strong country.
ReplyDeleteYes, as others have said the original constitution failed to set up a system to deal with slavery. Not even a simple "first step" was put in place to begin lessening the Southern states' dependency on slaves. Therefore, this would make it more difficult in the future to outright ban slavery, which could potentially cause an economic disaster.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Ricky. I'm pretty sure that the constitution discussed the rights of citizens in the Bill of Rights.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution focused mainly on how to run the country. They set up a system of legislature and other forms to help differentiate the government from Britian's. However, an important issue that it failed to discuss was the topic of slavery. At the time, the states were torn between keeping slavery, or banning the importation. Because southern states' economies were so reliant on slaves, northern states couln't help but agree that a ban would wreck havoc on the fragile economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grant and Ricky that ignoring the issue of slavery at the moment, just created more tensions between the north and the south in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution did not mention slavery and I think that it should have mentioned slavery instead of just leaving the issue out entirely. It was mentioned at the convention and they should have had some plans pertaining to slavery in the future because leaving it out just caused more problems years later in the civil war.
ReplyDeleteI think Grant brought up a very good point when he said that they did not even mention the word, "slave". They pretty much just put it off with the idea that maybe years later they would have to deal with it again.
ReplyDeleteThe delegates at the constitutional convention skirted around the topic of slavery. They allowed for its continued existence, and also the continued importation of slaves, primarily as a way to appease the south and ensure economic stability. Also, the delegates did a very good job outlining the role of government, but failed to mention provisions preserving the rights of citizens. This was fixed when the first 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights, were added in 1791.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tyler's point because she makes the connection between keeping slavery and maintaining a stable economy.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most significant mistakes made in the Constitution was the avoidance of the discord among states on slavery. The fact that the delegates did not include a concrete statement about where the country stood on the system of slavery at the moment only allowed the states to take it into their own jurisdiction and interpret the laws in their own favor. Most northern states maintained freedom and allowed a small population of blacks to be integrated into society, while southern states continued the slave trade and severely restricted all rights of African Americans. Such harsh conflict between the two regions proved to be extremely detrimental to the unity of the states and should have been directly addressed before these issues were blown to much greater proportions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ricky's point on the lack of delineation of Americans' rights in the Constitution. Although this topic was addressed in the Declaration of Independence, the delegates failed to debate this topic, or even agree that the previously established individual rights should still apply to the new nation they were creating. This also caused some different interpretations among states, which was another factor that led to a less unified nation.
ReplyDeleteThe delegates at the constitutional convention hardly touched on the topic of slavery. One major topic they failed to mention was the importation of slaves. Furthering the importation of slaves would set the abolition of slavery back quite a few years, and would eventually cause a division of the country by North and South. The reason for not banning the import of slaves was that slaves were such an integral part of cash crop production in the Southern States. Taking away slavery would essentially take the legs out from under the Southern states' economy.
ReplyDeleteI liked Tyler's point on how the constitution was mainly focused on building and maintaining order in the country, and ignored other factors such as slavery. I also like Joe Hands' point on how by not banning the importation of slaves, the U.S. failed to make any progress on lessening the Southern states' dependence on slavery.
ReplyDeleteAll of the submissions equally address the issue of slavery. Matt put it very simply; the issue of slavery would continue to worsen, dividing the North and South.
ReplyDeleteThe constitution lacked a finite answer on slavery. Policies such as the decision to prevent the prohibition of slavery until 1808 send an unclear message. the 20yr delay signifies an attachment to slavery and its importance. However, the possibility for the end of slave importation hints at sympathy with those in bondage. This confusion over the nation's stance on slavery would be one of the key factors to the political divide between the North and South proceeding the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteThe constitution was primarily focused on the distribution and division of power of government. It neglected to address the issue of slavery, specifically the importation of slaves.Also, the northern states and the southern states had differing opinions regarding the continuation of slavery.The constitution disregarded this, which would eventually result in tension between the North and the South.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ricky that the Constitution, at first, did not fully explain the natural rights and liberties the people have as citizens. However this problem was addressed with the creation of the Bill of Rights, which deals primarily with peoples' rights.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ricky that the constitution left out specifications over what rights were guaranteed to the citizens. I feel that these exclusions and those on slavery were result of the constitution becoming a victim of the political system. The delegates put much effort into making a remarkable document. However, in the final stages they sought to preserve their work by ceding ideas solely for the sake of ratification. Even if some of the policies were flawed, as the slavery position was, the delegates just wanted something to put out there. Their urgency to enact a working but flawed government can be seen in article 5 where specific instructions are given on how to amend the constitution.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution failed to directly address the issue of slavery. The word "slave" was never mentioned in the document, you can assume that they fit into the category of "other persons." Since there was such a dispute about slaves between the North and South it caused problems on decided importation laws. The northern states strongly opposed slavery while the southern states favored it because many of them made their money by owning plantations and relying on slaves.
ReplyDeleteSlavery really wasn't mentioned in the Consitution. They sort of just brushed over it without being specific. Avoiding the topic would cause problems later because like others have said, without a uniform decision, it caused a separation between the North and the South.
ReplyDeleteGrant brought up a good point (one that Mr. O mentioned in class) - the word "slave" wasn't even said in the Consitution. They literally left it out. They shouldn't have done that. They have should been straight forward and specific from the start of the government so that they could avoid later hostilities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt that the importation of slaves would eventually cause a division of the country between North and South because they each had opposite views on slavery. Since the slaves were an important cash crop for the southern states it stopped the ban of importation.
ReplyDeleteI think that the biggest issue in the constitution was the lack of a finite decision on slavery. Their was a lot of indecision among the northern and southern states on the issue of slavery because of its importance to the national economy. So, instead of making a ruling on the issue, the states chose to push it off for 20 years until 1808.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the general class consensus that slavery was the biggest issue in the constitution. I like that Christina and Grant brought up the fact that the word "slave" was not even used in the document.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution neglected to mention the issues of slavery, which I personally think was one of the biggest issues. Slavery caused disunity within the new country as the northern and southern states shared different views on this topic. The northern states believed slavery was immoral and wanted to stop the slave trade whereas the southern states depended on slaves' labors. Slavery not only contributes to the division of the northern and southern states but plays a role in the economy as well. Also, not to mention that if slaves were not given equal rights, the Southern states would lose representatives.
ReplyDeleteI like how Carlee mentioned the lack of national currency. If the country as a whole all produced different forms of money, it would further create tension as well as confusion.
ReplyDeleteI think the most significant issue ignored in the Constitution was slavery. While it was decided that slave importation would end in 1808, the delegates never made a firm and immediate decision about slavery. I believe that they intentionally tried to avoid it because they knew that it would cause major problems. However, simply putting off the problem for another time does not fix it, it only allows it to build. Perhaps if slavery was dealt with more directly in the 1780s, it would not have erupted as violently as it did in the 1860s.
ReplyDeleteI think Grant made a good point in mentioning that the word "slavery" never appeared in the constitution. This shows evidence for the fact that the delegates purposely ignored the issue.
ReplyDeletethe final document ignored many small things but the one issue most neglected would be the slavery issue. in the constitution it never mentioned the word slave i said all "others" and this very ambiguous term left room for people later on to fight and not everyone had the same idea of what the laws said because of this ambiguity. Also, they did not bring up the issue at the time of the writing of the constitution it was brought up later and by pushing the issue aside it would not fix it but possibly have made it play out more violently with the end result being the civil War. This was mainly because there was so much tension between the North and South with their differing views of slavery and what was right and wrong.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I'm last to comment and am trying to think of anything that was not already said. Clearly, slavery was the most significant issue that was left unresolved by the Constitution. The Convention focused mainly on the division and balance of governmental power, and put off the issue of slavery for another time. Delegates did not want to hinder the ratification of the Constitution over such a controversial topic. They settled on the 3/5ths compromise, and determined that Congress could ban the slave trade in 1808 (20 years later!).
ReplyDeleteAlthough they disagreed on the moral basis and value of slavery, both the North and South knew that the issue needed to be gradually addressed. However, it was never properly handled until it blew out of proportion. Despite the establishment of basic human rights, the question still remained as to who thet applied to. The importation and use of slaves continued, chiseling an even wider schism between the Northern and Souther states. In the end, the Civil War erupted, and eventually, slavery was finally eradicated.
The background of slavery in American history played a huge role in ongoing prejudices which still exist in today's society. (to relate to my time spent reading Outliers this summer) Cultural legacies have developed and continue to shape people's lives.Especially in the South, where slavery had been more prevalent, racial opposition continues to this day.
Matt made a good point concerning the economic importance of slavery in the South. It could not survive without free labor to produce their main source of income: cash crops. American economy was fundamentally based on the use of slavery, and would collapse with its immediate eradication. Especially as a new country, abolition was absolutely not an option.
ReplyDeleteAnd Helen's use of the word disunity definitely made my day for some reason. I really don't know why.
Though I'm being extremely redundant, I have to note that the eradication of slavery was a major unresolved issue. Due to unequal standings on the matter, the delegates decided to postpone the decision of whether or not to abolish slave trade for the next 20 years. This seemed like a good idea, but it is now known that the failure to follow through with these plans ultimately led to the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteIt was agreed that slavery would eventually be ended, and I think that they should have made that a little less ambiguous by setting a date for abolition in, say, 20 years. The way that was agreed on was to simply abolish the importation regardless of the continuation or outlawing of slavery itself. I feel that if they had tied in the idea of slavery itself as an immoral concept along with the ending of the slave trade, people may have been more conscious of their following through of laws.
Carlee's point on the lack of a national currency was interesting. It had not been brought up as a topic, but Americans were to see that it was necessary to conduct efficient business transactions as well as promote unity in the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the majority of the class in the fact that slavery was probably thr biggest issue they left out and thebiggest issue that could ahve been avoided if handled properly
ReplyDelete