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The Founders and the Constitution, Part 7: John Rutledge

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The Founders and the Constitution, Part 7: John Rutledge
A painting of John Rutledge by Robert Hinckley (after John Trumbull), circa 1888. Oyez.org, Public Domain
Rob Natelson
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Commentary

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first: John Rutledge owned slaves. Moreover, during the Constitutional Convention, he informed his fellow delegates that the three southernmost states would not join the Union if the Constitution immediately abolished the slave trade.

Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant” (3rd ed., 2015). He is a contributor to The Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
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