MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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The constitutional text

Article I · Section 9

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

[No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.]*

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER

Article I, Section 9, Clause 1a

The temporary protection of the international slave trade

historical provision
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight,

What it means

Congress could not prohibit the specified migration or importation before 1808 in states then existing that chose to admit those persons. In historical context, the protection principally preserved the international slave trade for that period.

Historical setting

The convention accommodated slaveholding interests through this delay and other provisions. Federalist 42 acknowledged the injustice of the trade while presenting the future possibility of prohibition as an improvement over indefinite protection.

What it does

The deadline ended the constitutional barrier to congressional prohibition; it did not itself free enslaved people or abolish slavery. Slavery was later abolished constitutionally by the Thirteenth Amendment.

Debate & interpretation

Calling the provision a compromise describes its political mechanism, not a moral defense. Its inclusion shows how the Constitution’s promises of liberty coexisted with deliberate protection of a profoundly coercive institution.

A common misreading

1808 was not the date slavery automatically ended, and the clause did not require Congress to wait until 1808 to condemn slavery morally.

Think it through

How should we assess a constitutional settlement that creates future capacity for reform while protecting injustice in the meantime?

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Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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