This is a clause which must be carefully read and analyzed. It implies much more than a mere surface reading will bring to attention. First, the phrase "Migration and Importation of such Persons" implies the slave trade. Goods may be called imports, but if people are referred to as imports, it can mean nothing other than slavery. "e;States now existing" can mean only the original thirteen colonies which were already established at the ratification of the Constitution. This clause could not pertain to any states formed after the Constitution was established. Therefore, any territories that were later created could not participate in the importation of slaves. Also, the phrase "shall think proper to admit" implies that the states are free to choose to import slaves.
The clause then goes on to explain that the migration or importation of slaves cannot be prohibited by Congress prior to the year 1808. However, a tax or duty can be imposed on the importation of slaves as long as it does not exceed ten dollars per person.
The fact that Congress cannot abolish the slave trade until 1808, and also the inclusion of the tax provision, are variations or restrictions on the power of Congress. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to lay and collect taxes and duties and to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and with Indian tribes. The provisions in Section 9 guard against amendment or changes to the slave trade. Otherwise Congress would have had the right to regulate the trade by the powers expressed in Section 8.
This clause, another compromise between the North and South, indicated that "The Framers recognized that taxes might be used, properly or otherwise, to accomplish social-political purposes, and these provisions are intended to guard against the use of tax power to discourage, if not even to abolish, the international slave trade before 1808." 6 The tax provision limits the ability of Congress to control the trade and guards against the use of the tax power to either discourage or abolish slave importation. If the tax were to go above ten dollars per person, it would have been more difficult for slave owners to afford purchasing slaves. Thus the slave trade was completely protected until 1808.
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