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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC00819.17 |
| From Archive Folder | Constitution and Constitutional Convention archive: Pierce Butler's notes |
| Title | Wheresoever any person bound to service... |
| Date | 28 August 1787 |
| Author | Butler, Pierce (1744-1822) |
| Document Type | Miscellany; Government document |
| Content Description | Draft. States that "the legislatures of the several states shall make provision for the recovering of such persons." No mention is made by name of slaves, apprentices or servants. Pencil note on back concerning a meeting at "Clifton at the Blue Bell Wharf." Date from Hutson. Not in Butler's hand. |
| Subjects | US Constitution US Constitutional Convention African American History Slavery Runaway Slave Indentured Servant Law Government and Civics |
| People | Butler, Pierce (1744-1822) |
| Place written | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Theme | Creating a New Government; Government & Politics; The American Revolution; Law; Slavery & Abolition; African Americans |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | The most controversial issues discussed at the Constitutional Convention involved slavery. Among the matters that Convention debated was whether states were obligated to return runaway slaves; whether slaves would count in apportioning representation or taxation; whether Congress had the power to abolish or regulate the slave trade from Africa or the West Indies or to regulate the interstate slave trade; and whether Congress had the right to prohibit slavery in the western territories. In the end, the northern delegates' commitment to union proved to be greater than any commitment to weaken slavery. Pierce Butler of South Carolina proposed that states be required to return fugitive slaves. The provision was adopted without debate, in part because the northern delegates feared that fugitives might create an unemployment problem in the North. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |