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Citations please. Slavery is only mentioned twice in the Constitution, and then, it's Amendments 13 and 14 (passed after the end of the Civil War). Restrictio
by spc476 13y ago
Citations please. Slavery is only mentioned twice in the Constitution, and then, it's Amendments 13 and 14 (passed after the end of the Civil War). Restrictions of power towards the several states is spelled out in Article I, section 10 (three paragraphs) and Article IV, with a clarification in Amendment X ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.").
There is nothing in the Constitution about secession (including the Amendments).
- mpyne 13y agoI'm surprised you managed to make it to Article IV without finding the citation which you seek. I'll quote Art. IV, §2: "No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due." This clause was made null and void by the Thirteenth Amendment that you've mentioned, which further makes me wonder... Anyways, the word "slavery" was deliberately not used by the Framers, as even at that time the concept was morally distasteful, so the Framers talked around the issue by referring to "Service" and "Party" instead of "slave" and "master". You also missed the part in the Constitution where importation of slaves could not be forbidden until 1808 (Art. I, §9).