We, the Commodity People: Constitutions and Slavery in the Age of Revolutions (c. 1770-c.1830)

Scholars have been studying Atlantic slavery and constitutions for decades, if not centuries. We have, by now, a generally solid understanding of slavery; we also have a generally solid understanding of constitutions. But the way slavery and the concepts of constitutions are tied together is still underexplored. This paper addresses that gap by examining the constitutional settlements of slavery during the Age of Revolutions from an Atlantic perspective. Combining political history with Begriffsgeschichte, I argue that the constitutional definition of key concepts of freedom (representation, citizenship, and sovereignty) reshaped the normative foundations of slavery across the Atlantic, laying the groundwork for its expansion, crisis, and eventual overthrow.