Convention.
37. Reception of the Clause by the Nation.
38. Attitude of the State Conventions.
39. Acceptance of the Policy.

32. ~The First Proposition.~ Slavery occupied no prominent place in the
Convention called to remedy the glaring defects of the Confederation,
for the obvious reason that few of the delegates thought it expedient to
touch a delicate subject which, if let alone, bade fair to settle itself
in a manner satisfactory to all. Consequently, neither slavery nor the
slave-trade is specifically mentioned in the delegates' credentials of
any of the States, nor in Randolph's, Pinckney's, or Hamilton's plans,
nor in Paterson's propositions. Indeed, the debate from May 14 to June
19, when the Committee of the Whole reported, touched the subject only
in the matter of the ratio of representation of slaves. With this same
exception, the report of the Committee of the Whole contained no
reference to slavery or the slave-trade, and the twenty-three
resolutions of the Convention referred to the Committee of Detail, July
23 and 26, maintain the same silence.

The latter committee, consisting of Rutledge, Randolph, Gorham,
Ellsworth, and Wilson, reported a draft of the Constitution August 6,
1787. The committee had, in its deliberations, probably made use of a
draft of a national Constitution made by Edmund Randolph.[1] One clause
of this provided that "no State shall lay a duty on imports;" and, also,
"1. No duty on exports. 2. No prohibition on such inhabitants as the
United States think proper to admit. 3. No duties by way of such
prohibition." It does not appear that any reference to Negroes was here
intended. In the extant copy, however, notes in Edward Rutledge's
handwriting change the second clause to "No prohibition on such
inhabitants or people as the several States think proper to admit."[2]
In the report, August 6, these clauses take the following form:--

"Article VII. Section 4. No tax or duty shall be laid by the
legislature on articles exported from any state; nor on the
migration or importation of such persons as the several states
shall think proper to admit; nor shall such migration or
importation be prohibited."[3]

33. ~The General Debate.~ This, of course, referred both to immigrants
("migration") and to slaves ("importation").[4] Debate on this section
began Tuesday, August 22, and lasted two days. Luther Martin of Maryland
precipitated the discussion by a proposi