| [34] | History of Negro Race in America, Williams, Vol. I, p. 426. |
| [35] | Critical Period of American History, Fiske, p. 264. |
| [36] | Life and Times of Madison, Rives, Vol. II, p. 446. |
VI
The Foreign Slave Trade
Virginia's Efforts to Abolish it
Despite Virginia's failure to secure the immediate suppression of the foreign slave trade, her sons were active in their efforts to restrict its growth and at the earliest possible moment to drive the slave ships from the seas.
In the first Congress under the constitution, April, 1789, Josiah Parker of Virginia sought to amend the Tariff Bill under discussion by inserting a clause levying an import tax of ten dollars upon every slave brought into the country.
"He was sorry the constitution prevented Congress from prohibiting the importation altogether. It was contrary to Revolution principles and ought not to be permitted.... He hoped Congress would do all in their power to restore to human nature its inherent privileges; to wipe off, if possible, the stigma under which America labored; to do away with the inconsistence in our principles justly charged upon us; and to show by our actions, the pure beneficence of the doctrine held out to the world in our Declaration of Independence."