This short video highlights the importance of popular sovereignty in the ratification debates. The people themselves, through their elected delegates in specially-called conventions, voted up or down on the new Constitution. Professor John Kaminksi notes how the Antifederalists also used the principle of popular sovereignty to justify their call for constitutional amendments.
Gradual Emancipation of Slaves After 1780
This short video examines the gradual but limited emancipation that occurred before the Constitutional Convention. In Northern states, fewer slaves and less racist sentiment enabled states such as Pennsylvania to pass gradual emancipation laws while even some Southern states, where racism was more entrenched, made it easier for slaves to be freed. However, as Professor John Kaminiski notes, the great political leaders of the South took no bold actions to free their slaves.
States, Slavery, and the Constitution
This short video assesses sectional differences at the Convention about slavery. New England delegates saw slavery as a moral issue beyond the scope of their deliberations; representatives from the Middle States were generally opposed to slavery on moral and economic grounds; and Southerners were insistent on protection for both slavery and the slave trade. Professor John Kaminski analyzes how the conflict was resolved by denying Congress any power to regulate the trade until 1808.
Slavery and the Three-Fifths Compromise
This short video explains the role played by slavery in counting population for taxation and representation. Drawing upon an unsuccessful 1783 amendment to the Articles, James Madison suggested that the slave population be counted at 60% for both representation and taxation. Professor John Kaminski explains how this “federal ratio” reconciled Southerners (who wanted slaves counted as people for representation) and Northerners (who wanted slaves counted as property in determining taxation.)
The Fugitive Slave Clause and the Constitution
This short video reviews the controversy over a fugitive slave clause. Northern states were opposed to including a fugitive slave clause in the Constitution. Professor John Kaminski tell the story of Quock Walker, an escaped slave, who was not returned to his owner in 1781 because a Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice ruled that slavery was unconstitutional based upon the MA Constitution. With the inclusion of a fugitive slave clause in the US Constitution, MA was no longer an asylum state.
Emancipation of Slaves Under the Constitution
This short video illustrates the approaches taken by the various states towards freeing their slaves. Pennsylvania and New York were among the first to provide a path to gradual emancipation, due in large part to the influence of Quakers and Methodists. Professor John Kaminiski discusses the various criteria for manumission: the age of the individual; what percentage of the individual’s racial background was African-American; and how well prepared the individual was for life as a freeman.
The Slave Trade and the Constitution
This short video examines changing attitudes towards the slave trade in the late 18th century. As early as 1763, there were strong voices in favor of the abolition of international slave trading. At the Constitutional Convention, states from the Deep South refused to support the Constitution without some protection for the slave trade. Professor John Kaminksi describes the convention’s decision to allow congressional action on slavery after 1808 as “the beginning of the end.”
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) eLesson
After the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was passed to grant citizenship to former slaves and protect them from civil rights violations in their home states. Public schools were relatively rare throughout the United States, but were often segregated by race where they existed. The same Congress that passed the 14th Amendment created racially segregated schools for the District of Columbia. In the 20th century, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began a litigation campaign designed to bring an end to state mandated segregation, calling attention to the shabby accommodations provided for blacks, as well as arguing the damaging psychological effects that segregation had on black school children. One case was brought on behalf of Linda Brown, a third-grader from Topeka, Kan.
Immigration eLesson
The United States of America is a nation of immigrants. From its colonial origins to the present day there has been a steady stream of would-be Americans; however, the laws pertaining to immigrants have changed and evolved over time. This lesson will look at previous immigration laws, and highlight the constitutional issues that have arisen out of immigration policy.
Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation eLesson
To remember Abraham Lincoln, who died on April 15, 1865, this eLesson will focus on the Emancipation Proclamation. Presidents Buchanan, Lincoln, and Johnson believed that the Constitution protected the institution of slavery. Lincoln came to the conclusion that, in order to preserve the Constitution and the Union it created, he must apply a new understanding of the principles on which the nation was built.