The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

The author argues that slavery has no legitimate constitutional or legal basis, grounding his case in natural law and in the charter, statutory, and common-law traditions that shaped American institutions. He defines law, surveys colonial charters and English precedents, and interprets the Declaration, state constitutions, the Articles of Confederation, and the federal Constitution to show inconsistency between slavery and fundamental legal principles. He examines the intentions and practice of the framers and the contemporary public understanding, reviews later state constitutions, and concludes that legal instruments did not create a lawful property right in persons and that children of enslaved parents are born free.