Migration or Importation Clause
E666847
The Migration or Importation Clause is a provision in the U.S. Constitution that temporarily restricted Congress from prohibiting the transatlantic slave trade before 1808.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
constitutional clause
ⓘ
provision of the United States Constitution ⓘ |
| addressedTo | "States now existing" at the time of ratification ⓘ |
| adoptedIn | 1787 ⓘ |
| allowedCongressTo | impose a tax or duty on the importation of persons ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Article I, Section 9, Clause 1
ⓘ
Slave Trade Clause NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesTo | United States Congress NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| cameIntoForceOn | 1789-03-04 ⓘ |
| category |
Original constitutional compromise over slavery
ⓘ
Slavery-related provision in the United States Constitution ⓘ |
| citationForm | U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 1 ⓘ |
| compromiseBetween | Northern states and Southern states at the Constitutional Convention ⓘ |
| connectedTo | federalism and division of powers over slavery ⓘ |
| constitutionalCategory | limitation on federal legislative power ⓘ |
| constitutionalStatus | remains textually in the Constitution but is obsolete in effect ⓘ |
| debatedBy |
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
James Madison NERFINISHED ⓘ other framers at the Constitutional Convention ⓘ |
| doesNotApplyTo | states admitted to the Union after the Constitution was ratified ⓘ |
| draftedDuring | Philadelphia Convention NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| foundIn | Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geographicScope | importation of persons into the United States ⓘ |
| historicalContext | Constitutional Convention of 1787 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicallyAssociatedWith |
domestic politics of slavery in the early republic
ⓘ
transatlantic slave trade to the United States ⓘ |
| influenced | Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| interpretedAs | a protection for the transatlantic slave trade until 1808 ⓘ |
| languageRefersTo | "such Persons" as a euphemism for enslaved Africans ⓘ |
| legalEffect | limited Congress’s authority over the slave trade for twenty years ⓘ |
| moralCriticism | viewed as a constitutional accommodation of slavery ⓘ |
| negotiatedBy |
delegates from South Carolina and Georgia
ⓘ
delegates from non-slaveholding states ⓘ delegates from other slaveholding states ⓘ |
| permittedAfterDate | federal prohibition of the slave trade after 1808 ⓘ |
| primaryEffect | prevented an immediate federal ban on the slave trade ⓘ |
| purpose | to secure Southern support for the Constitution by protecting the slave trade temporarily ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Commerce Clause
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Fugitive Slave Clause NERFINISHED ⓘ Three-Fifths Compromise NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| restrictedPowerOf | Congress to prohibit the migration or importation of persons before 1808 ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
federal power over slavery
ⓘ
importation of enslaved persons ⓘ transatlantic slave trade ⓘ |
| subsequentlyAffectedBy | Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| taxLimit | not exceeding ten dollars for each person ⓘ |
| temporalLimitationUntil | 1808-01-01 ⓘ |
| textBeginsWith | "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit" ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.