Civil Rights - Slavery

Though equality is a democratic value, the US Constitution originally allowed for slavery. Early laws did, too. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in parts of the country (western territories north of the Ohio River) but also provided that fugitive slaves could be “lawfully reclaimed.” The Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery in territories north of the parallel 36.5 degrees north of the equator and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 authorized federal judges to recognize a slave owner’s property rights claim to fugitive slaves. The Dred Scott ruling made it clear that slavery was not likely to be resolved politically, but instead through civil war. After the Civil War, constitutional amendments and new civil rights legislation banned slavery and attempted to make equality on the basis of race more of a political reality.