What was the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise?

Answered by Catherine Caldwell

In 1787, considering adoption of a new constitution, there was a need to achieve certain compromises to avoid disagreements between states. The North states stayed ahead of the South in terms of industry development; they insisted upon taxation on imports and exports in order to prevent competition from the southern states.

At that time, most of the northern states had already abolished slavery and advocated on the complete cessation, while the South, on the contrary, depended on the slave trade. The main issues at the council were related to trade regulation by Congress and the further existence of the slave trade in the United States. The parties came to a compromise — the Congress was allowed to control the trade, the tax was imposed only on imports, and slavery would remain in the South for another 20 years.