“Dishonorable to the American Character”: James Madison and the Impact of the Federal Convention’s Bargain on Slavery

Slavery has long been seen as central to the debates in the Federal Convention of 1787. Yet scholarship on the rati fi cation debates has generally concluded that slavery was an issue of secondary or localized importance. This article explores the role of slavery in the rati fi ca- tion debate from the vantage point of James Madison and  fi nds that the Convention ’ s in- famous bargain on slavery in late August played a larger role than has been recognized in in fl uencing Madison ’ s rati fi cation-era activities. Confusion, animosity, and sectional sus- picions sparked by a proposal from the Committee of Detail were escaping from behind the curtains of the Philadelphia Convention. This prompted Madison, in his second phase of contributions to  The Federalist  beginning with no. 37, to begin a complex defense of the reputation of the Convention against rumors of a sectional bargain on slavery that he would later remember as  “ dishonorable to the American character. ”