A Missed Chance

Have you ever wondered why Patrick Henry never ran for President? There is (believe it or not) a reason.

In the making of the Constitution, the Southerners and Northerners were disagreed (of course) on slavery. They didn’t want to make it a big issue, so they make a bad, behind the scenes, no good, shocking, sneaky, deal: no one would talk about it. All they said was that slaves would count as 3/5 of person in elections, and that no one could outlaw the importation of slaves until 1808.

This under-the-radar deal so angered George Mason and some other Christians that they left the convention. This is another reason (among others) why Patrick Henry opposed the Constitution. If he hadn’t, he could have easily won a presidential election. (Well, in my opinion).

The cotton gin hadn’t come around yet, so slavery wasn’t as firmly established in the South as it became in the 1820’s. Many people were able and willing to free their slaves if the time came. But the chance was passed up because a few men didn’t have the guts to mention the issue at the convention.