The paper explains that, when the Constitutional
Convention convened in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787 and the founders
of the United States sought to put into writing the ideological basis for the nation they had recently
created, slavery was an issue. The author points out that the perpetuation of slavery was a direct contradiction to their premise that "all men are created equal" and many members of the
convention called for its abolishment. The paper relates that, instead, it was acknowledged by the convention that the southern economy could not function without it; slavery continued but only where it was indispensable; however, the Continental Congress did attempt to eliminate the trading of slaves between America and Africa.