Was America Built on the Back of Slavery? Yes and No - Part 2

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Was America Built on the Back of Slavery? Yes and No - Part 1

Congressional Action

Thomas Jefferson was serving his second term as president of the United States in late 1806, and January 1, 1808, was quickly approaching. The opportunity to take the first step toward ending slavery was finally presenting itself. Sadly, the number of slaves had grown from less than 300k at the time the U.S. Constitution was written to roughly 900k as 1808 drew nigh. Thus, that population tripled in twenty years. However, the nation was in its infancy, and many were concerned it might not survive the drastic step of complete abolition. Still, Thomas Jefferson was anxious that Congress should take action. He stated, in an address to Congress in December 1806:

I congratulate you, fellow-citizens, on the approach of the period at which you may interpose your authority constitutionally to withdraw the citizens of the United States from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa, and which the morality, the reputation, and the best interests of our country have long been eager to proscribe.[1]

The decision was made to take baby steps where slavery was concerned. In 1807, Congress passed a statute, which took effect on January 1, 1808, prohibiting the importation of slaves. Some tried to argue that the statute was unconstitutional since the Constitution did not designate to Congress control over the slave trade industry. The argument was overcome as Congress used its authority over foreign and interstate commerce to make the case. However, the argument concerning foreign and interstate commerce was likely unnecessary. According to Article I, Section 9, Clause 1, the limitation on congressional action with respect to slavery had an expiration date of January 1, 1808, at which time the restriction was lifted. Consequently, once that date was reached, the Constitution clearly authorized congressional action.

The Growth of Slavery in America

There is certainly a strong argument to be made that the statute passed by Congress was weak and did little to mitigate slavery in America. After all, slaves had children who were, themselves, born into slavery, so the population of slaves continued to grow. However, as the nation began to gain strength, the topic of slavery became more divisive, and an abolitionist movement developed. The Underground Railroad, where seeds were sewn as early as the 1780’s, began to gain heavy support by the mid 1800’s. Men like Frederick Douglass, a former slave, with the cooperation of religious groups like Quakers and Methodists, helped to free tens of thousands of slaves. Still, by 1861, as the Civil War began, that slave population had grown to between 3.5 and 4 million. In other words, slavery expanded more than ten-fold over eighty years. Thus, it may be fairly said that for the first several decades of existence, this nation, and particularly southern states, clung heavily to the institution of slavery.

Following the congressional action of 1808, the industry of slavery became more divisive over the next few decades, reaching a fever pitch in the late 1850’s following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scot case (1857). For those unfamiliar with Dred Scot, it would be worth your time to study the events surrounding that case as it represents a pivotal moment in American history, particularly where slavery is concerned.

Civil War

What finally brought us to Civil War? In 1860 Abraham Lincoln, the Republican presidential candidate, voiced concerns about the expansion of slavery in America as new states were being added on a regular basis. He did not particularly advocate for abolition, but slavery was certainly a concern. This, of course, rattled those southern states whose livelihood relied heavily on the slavery industry. They believed with Lincoln at the helm that the federal government may seek to interfere in the growth of the industry and later lean toward abolition.

In late November or early December 1860, shortly after Lincoln’s election, the state of South Carolina passed an ordinance claiming secession from the union. The people, and particularly the leaders of South Carolina, believed that as a constitutionally sovereign state, the federal government had no authority to interfere with slavery in their state, but they were confident that interference was coming.

It has often been said that the Civil War was not about slavery. Rather, it was about states’ rights and the attempt to secede from the union. Honestly, however, the attempt to secede was grounded in the attacks on slavery from the north and concerns that the federal government might attempt to interfere with that industry. So, while the issue was states’ rights, slavery was the heart of the matter.

The war ensued beginning April 12, 1861, with an attack by a South Carolina militia on Fort Sumter, which was located at the entrance to Charleston Harbor in Charleston, South Carolina. The initial shot from a canon toward the fort began a Civil War that would last four years, causing massive loss of life and destruction of property. Roughly half-way through the war, Lincoln released his Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for all slaves. Of course, the declaration was ignored by the confederate states, but the order was given.

The Cost of War

By the time the war came to an end in April 1865, the death rate was staggering. More than 360k union soldiers were killed over the four-year span with nearly 260k confederate soldiers lost in the war. Boasting a total population of roughly 31 million as the war began, the United States lost roughly 2% of that population in battle.

The evil of slavery, which was admittedly inherited from the British Empire, remains as a stain on the foundation of arguably the greatest nation to ever exist. Unfortunately, there is no undoing that history. What can be said, however, is that the United States of America is the nation where the wantonness of slavery was finally and fully addressed, and at no small cost. From the beginning of this nation, the eyes of the Founders were fixed on the ideal of bringing this evil institution to an end. Could more have been done in the earlier stages of the country’s development? Perhaps more could have been done early; but a nation in its infancy probably would not have survived an earlier Civil War and slavery may well have continued long past 1865. So, was America built on the back of slavery? To a degree, yes, but the nation was equally built on the dream that slavery could be done away.

Slavery remains a blemish that will forever haunt this nation just as it will continue to haunt the history of so many nations over the past few millennia. Are reparations due the descendants of those who suffered in slavery? Some like to make that claim. Yet no calculation can reasonably address what can only be deemed an immeasurable wrong. Still, there are a couple of factors to consider. First, if every man is to be held accountable, and must pay for ancestral wrongs, it is safe to say that we would all be in trouble. Second, many people who now live in America do not have American ancestry dating back to the days of slavery.

The Civil War was costly. In fact, it could be said that the cost was greater than this nation could afford at the time. Still, the alternative would undoubtedly have been worse as the institution of slavery continued until another day of reckoning. Part of that cost was that many ancestors offered up the ultimate sacrifice in order to do away with the institution of slavery. It seems, then, there is a case to be made that the heaviest price possible has already been paid.

                                          End Part 2

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[1] The National Constitution Center, The Slave Trade Clause, https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-i/clauses/761, Accessed January 30, 2026.

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