United States Constitution

PREAMBLE : We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution

ARTICLES

Amendment

Article IV: Fugitive Slave Clause

 
Text of Constitution:
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
The 'Travis Translation' of Constitution:
A slave in one state who escapes to a state where slavery is outlawed, will be returned to the slave owner upon their request. [The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery, making this part of the Constitution outdated.]
Thankfully, this clause has been rendered null and void. In the original Constitution, it required that any escaped slave – no matter that he or she may have escaped to a state that outlaws slavery – would be returned to the owner. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the nation ratified the 13th Amendment, which rendered slavery unconstitutional and illegal across the country.