Sparks Commentary: Actually, the Confederacy had no intention of ever abolishing slavery

Warning: For obvious reasons, this post does not censor the offensive language out of the historical sources that it quotes from. To do so would be to obscure the truth about past racism and bigotry.

The Confederate Constitution shows that the South intended to prolong slavery

Even today, there are still some White Southerners who support slavery (although they are few), but most of them now disapprove of the institution, and the racial discrimination that was at the heart of it in these prior times. Perhaps because of this, there have been some White Southerners in recent years who have argued that the South would have abolished slavery anyway, and that it was inclined to do so at this time. (The fictional book “The Guns of the South” is one example of this trend, and I have encountered various other examples of this in some conversations that I have had with White Southerners over the years.)

I will show this with some relevant quotations from the Confederate Constitution

Because of this, it might be helpful to correct the record here, and show that the South had no intention of ever abolishing slavery. I will do this with some quotations from the so-called “Constitution of the Confederate States” (ratified 1862), which show how pro-slavery this wanna-be “Constitution” really was. In many ways, it was even more pro-slavery than the United States Constitution that it would have permanently replaced, which had a number of defects of its own with regards to slavery.

First page of the Confederate Constitution

Three-fifths clause now explicitly said “slaves,” instead of the euphemism “other persons”

One of the most infamous parts of the original United States Constitution was the notorious three-fifths clause. This clause actually said that a state’s representation was to be apportioned “according to population,” by adding the whole number of free persons to “three-fifths of all other persons.” (Source: U. S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3) The Confederate Constitution actually has nearly identical language, except that it replaces “Union” with “Confederacy” in the earlier part of the paragraph, and has “three-fifths of all slaves” instead of just three-fifths of all “other persons” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3) – the Northern-friendly euphemism for slaves.

Slave who was brutally whipped

Fugitive slave clause now explicitly said “slaves” (and “to whom such slave belongs”)

There were also a number of other instances where the references to slavery were made more explicit. For example, the fugitive slave clause was amended to say that “No slave or other person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the Confederate States, under the laws thereof, escaping or lawfully carried into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such slave belongs, or to whom such service or labor may be due.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 4, Section 2, Paragraph 3) The older counterpart of this clause in the United States Constitution did not include either the word “slave,” or the phrase “to whom such slave belongs.” (Source: U. S. Constitution, Article 4, Section 2, Paragraph 3) – thus showing that the Confederacy was making these references more explicit. The part about being “lawfully carried” into another state was also an unfortunate innovation of the Confederate Constitution.

Dred Scott, a runaway slave who tried unsuccessfully to sue for his freedom

Changes to the slave importation clause now made explicit mention of race

Another example came with regard to the importation of slaves, where the changes were more drastic. Specifically, the original United States Constitution said that “The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.” (Source: U. S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 1) The Confederate Constitution said that “The importation of negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or Territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbidden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 1) The latter part requiring Congress to “pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same” is the only part of the Confederate Constitution that was less pro-slavery than the wording of the original Constitution; although the North was just as opposed to slave importations in practice at this time as was the South. The Confederate Constitution also stated the racial basis of its slavery laws explicitly, in a way that the United States Constitution did not. Moreover, another clause from the Confederate Constitution also said that “Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of, or Territory not belonging to, this Confederacy.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 2) This gave the other slave states of this time an incentive (albeit an unfortunate one) to join the Confederacy, by explicitly allowing them to participate in this detestable slave trade between the states once they joined the Confederacy.

Slave trading business in Atlanta – Georgia, 1864

No law denying or impairing the “right of property in negro slaves” (their words, not mine)

Another clause from the United States Constitution originally had nothing to do with slavery, but now was modified to include a pro-slavery clause. Specifically, the United States Constitution said that “No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.” (Source: U. S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 3). But the Confederate Constitution added in another explicit reference to slavery by saying that “No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 4) This effectively prohibited the federal Congress from impairing the so-called “right of property” in slaves, and made the racial basis of these laws explicit by specifying that its victims were what it called “negro slaves” (their words, not mine).

Slaves on a cotton plantation – South Carolina, 1862

Right of “transit and sojourn” in any Confederate state, with “slaves and other property”

The United States Constitution said that “The Citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of Citizens in the several states.” (Source: U. S. Constitution, Article 4, Section 2, Paragraph 1) The Confederate Constitution added in another explicit reference to slavery in their amended version of this clause, by saying that “The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States; and shall have the right of transit and sojourn in any State of this Confederacy, with their slaves and other property; and the right of property in said slaves shall not be thereby impaired.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 4, Section 2, Paragraph 1) This “right of transit and sojourn” was not mentioned in the Constitution of the United States, and thus was an unfortunate innovation of the Confederate States.

Four generations of a slave family – South Carolina, 1862

The institution of “Negro slavery” (their words, not mine) to extend to Confederate territories

The Confederate Constitution also added in (at least) one entirely new clause about slavery, which said that “The Confederate States may acquire new territory; and Congress shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the Confederate States, lying without the limits of the several Sates; and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form States to be admitted into the Confederacy. In all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected be Congress and by the Territorial government; and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories shall have the right to take to such Territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States or Territories of the Confederate States.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 4, Section 3, Paragraph 3)

Map of the Confederate States of America and its territories

Conclusion: The White South had no intention of ever abolishing slavery

These quotations thus show that the Confederate Constitution actually contained many protections for slavery in its various sections, even moreso than the United States Constitution that it would have permanently replaced for the South. They made explicit the racial basis for their slavery laws in a way that the United States Constitution did not, and contained many provisions that went much further in their support for slavery than any prior clauses from the United States Constitution had done. For these and other reasons, it is thus clear that the Confederacy had no intention of ever abolishing slavery, but wanted to prolong it as long as possible, and keep it as a permanent fixture of American (or at least, Southern) life.

Christopher Memminger, the principal author of the provisional constitution

Footnote to this blog post:

Before the so-called “Constitution of the Confederate States” was ratified in 1862, there was a “Constitution for the Provisional Government” of the Confederacy ratified in February 1861 (shortly before the Civil War started). When the provisional government was later replaced by the Confederate Constitution that I have been quoting from here, the newer document made explicit mention of its immediate predecessor with the following stipulation: “The Government established by this Constitution is the successor of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, and all the laws passed by the latter shall continue in force until the same shall be repealed or modified; and all the officers appointed by the same shall remain in office until their successors are appointed and qualified, or the offices abolished.” (Source: Confederate Constitution, Article 6, Section 1)