The Summer of 1787 by David O. Stewart

Author:David O. Stewart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Chapter Sixteen

The Curse of Heaven

AUGUST 8–29

AS IT HAD BEFORE, slavery came up in a sideways fashion. On the second day of debate over the Rutledge Committee re- port, the Convention was addressing the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives. A North Carolinian wanted to clarify how the three-fifths ratio would be applied. His motion was adopted.

The General recognized Rufus King of Massachusetts. King was angry; the three-fifths ratio, he spat out, was “ a most grating circumstance.”

King was one of nature’s lucky ones. Of middle size, he was darkly handsome and well spoken. Having been born to a wealthy merchant family, he married into a wealthier one. Though only thirty-two, the Harvard-educated lawyer had already earned high regard at the Convention. One delegate recorded that there was “ something peculiarly strong and rich in his expression, clear and convincing in his arguments.” From his time in the Confederation Congress, King was known to oppose slavery. His efforts to exclude slavery from the Northwest Territory helped lay the groundwork for the Ipswich Miracle. By nature pragmatic, King ordinarily took thoughtful positions. But on Wednesday, August 8, after absorbing the pro-South provisions of the draft Constitution, King was as hot as the brick walkways outside the State House.

He told the delegates that he had been willing to accept the three-fifths ratio as the price of creating a strong national government. The Rutledge Committee’s report “put an end to all these hopes” by ensuring the continued importation of slaves and banning export taxes. The result had “so much inequality and unreasonableness” that “Northern states could never be reconciled to it.”

King stopped short of abolitionism. His complaint was that the South was getting too much: the three-fifths ratio increased its power; banning export taxes protected its economy; and preserving the slave trade ensured its oppressive social system. It was more than he could stand. King had hoped “ that at least a time would have been limited for the importation of slaves. He never could agree to let them be imported without limitation and then be represented in the National Legislature. ”

Though he spoke strongly, King signaled that he was willing to deal. Perhaps, he added, the three-fifths ratio could be dropped, or exports made taxable.

Roger Sherman attempted to calm the waters. The gawky Connecticut delegate conceded that the slave trade was “iniquitous.” Of course it was. Still, he urged, the Convention had long ago adopted the three-fifths ratio; it should not be challenged now.

Sherman’s soft words did not work on Gouverneur Morris. Prodded by King’s outburst, the Pennsylvanian reared up on his peg leg, brimming over with rage and righteousness. He moved that representatives be allocated according to the number of “free inhabitants,” expunging the three-fifths ratio. Then, declaring that he “never would concur in upholding domestic slavery,” he delivered the first abolitionist speech in American political life.

Slavery, he proclaimed, was a “nefarious institution—it was the curse of heaven on the states where it prevailed.” Contrasted with the prosperity and order

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