Slavery is another topic that not only split our nation’s people into two separate social groups, but also continued to be an argument built into the United States’ framework for years to come. On February 11, 1790, Quaker protesters called for an end of slavery before Congress. Immediately, delegates from the South denied their requests, stating that the U.S. Constitution specifically prohibits Congress from passing a law that abolishes the slave trade and slavery until 1808. (Ninety percent of the population of slaves in the United States was found in the South.) The Southerners also questioned the logistical and economic effects of eliminating slavery. First of all, the United States debt would be raised from $77.1 million to $125 million in order to compensate the Southern farmers who would be losing their source of income. Second, at this point in history, no biracial society existed; therefore, a place for the black population to live once freed, was needed. Northerners, under the leadership of Benjamin Franklin, asserte

Although the issue of neutrality was one that was not built into our national identity, slavery and assumption of state debts certainly were. After the revolutionary era passed, questions surrounding slavery and federal versus state laws did not die down. Although slavery has long since passed, today’s society still faces the questions of racism and human rights. Arguments between Federalists and Republicans have transcended into today’s political parties: Democrats and Republicans. Although the times have changed, the disputes remain the same: Democrats believe that power should be in the hands of the federal government, while Republicans believe that states, and more so individual citizens, should manage their own programs and economy. Joseph J. Ellis’ statement is indeed correct, for two hundred years after the revolutionary era, the issues in their debates are still prominent within the framework of American society.

d that slavery was incompatible with the principles of the American Revolution. This deep-rooted argument did not simply appear after the signing of the Constitution. Arguments of slavery and the slave trade had been going on for many years. Northerners had little need for slaves, considering most of the Northerners were financiers rather than plantation owners. Congress eve

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