1. Voting on slavery at the Constitutional Convention
- Author
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Keith L. Dougherty and Jac C. Heckelman
- Subjects
Economics and Econometrics ,Delegate ,Sociology and Political Science ,media_common.quotation_subject ,05 social sciences ,16. Peace & justice ,0506 political science ,Convention ,Empirical research ,State (polity) ,Apportionment ,Law ,Voting ,0502 economics and business ,050602 political science & public administration ,Economics ,Voting behavior ,050207 economics ,Public finance ,media_common ,Law and economics - Abstract
This paper provides the first empirical study of delegate voting behavior on issues of slavery at the U.S. Constitutional Convention. We analyze two categories of votes: those related to apportionment and those related to the regulation of the slave trade. Although it is widely believed that delegates voted consistent with the interests of their states on issues of slavery, we find that for votes on apportionment, the effect of state interests was enhanced by both the delegate’s personal interest and his religious background. For votes regulating the slave trade, state interests had a significant effect but only within specific regions.
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