James Monroe: Special Message to the Senate on the Slave Trade Convention with Great Britain

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

Slavery was the nation's foremost social issue and one with which every early American president had to deal. For most of his life, Monroe was in an acutely uncomfortable position on the issue: He came from Virginia, a state where slavery was viewed by many as essential to their economic and political prosperity. On the other hand, Monroe's views on slavery were severe: If he could end slavery in the United States, he would. But his best hope of ending slavery—by having the government buy slaves from their owners—was too expensive. Besides, he and many others worried that some states would become entirely black if slaves were freed. Moreover, violent conflict between the black states and other states would result. He took a view more hopeful than realistic—that slave owning would become diffused through the nation, lose its centers of support in the slave states, and die out because of lack of interest.

As president Monroe could take decisive action through foreign diplomacy. The goal was not to end slavery per se but to outlaw the trading in slaves, which would allow slavery to die a natural death. Monroe begins his message by rejecting the methods advocated by the European nations that had already outlawed the slave trade. This method consisted of allowing the crews of ships to board and search vessels suspected of being used to transport slaves. Guilty parties would then be tried by special tribunals. Monroe argues, however, that this method is “repugnant to the feelings of the nation and a dangerous tendency.” In time of peace, no nation should be allowed to interdict the vessels of another nation.

Monroe, then offers a different solution. He proposes that engaging in the slave trade should be regarded as an act of piracy and therefore a violation of the law. He made this proposal to Great Britain and reports with pleasure that Great Britain accepted it. He is also pleased to report that the British Parliament had taken a step similar to that which the U.S. Congress has taken—declaring the slave trade an act of piracy—and he expresses hope that Great Britain would press a similar proposal on the other nations of Europe. Monroe concludes, then, that “the crime will then be universally proscribed as piracy, and the traffic be suppressed forever.”

The Slave Trade Convention with Great Britain was an action Monroe apparently regarded with pride. As he points out, there were already a few treaties among European nations limiting the international trade in Africans taken to become slaves, but he tried for a solution that would pragmatically end the trade altogether. He believed this required a treaty to which the signatories could commit themselves without qualms. His purpose in this document is not only to report the progress of negotiations with Great Britain but also to urge the U.S. Congress to ratify the convention. Despite his well-reasoned explanation of his rationale for the convention, Congress refused to ratify it.