It also depends on what you are determining to be a SOUTHERN States? What about Delaware and Maryland? Are those northern or southern states in you estimation. They are both south of the Mason and Dixon line.
There were slaves enumerated in Northern States in all U.S. census from 1790 on.
In the 1790 census there were 152,000 slaves listed in the census of northern states, which signed the US Constitution, and which remained part of the Union in 1860. That figure was 21.8% of all the slaves listed in the 1790 census. 22% is a sizable labor force and repersented a sizable monitary interest in those states. Yes the majority of slaves were in three states, Virginia, North and South Carolina.
Kentucky enumerated 12,430 slaves in the 1790 census, BUT was not an original signer of the Constitutional Ratification process, and therefore not counted in that 152,000.
Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan listed slaves until 1830.
Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana listed slaves in their census until 1840.
Wisconsin listed Slaves in the 1850 census.
Kansas and New Jersey listed slaves in the 1860 census. Along with South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri.
Vermont, California, Oregon and Minnesota are the only states which do not enumerate any slaves in their census, from their admission to the Union until 1860.
West Virginia was admitted to the Union as a slave State in 1863 and Nevada was admitted as a free state.
Of course I am aware that you know all of this. But your friends assumption that only 4 southern states influenced the rest to the 13 colony/states on the question of slavery, that it be included in the Constitution to gain their acceptance and that northern industry was not suited to slave labor are both in error and based on false assumptions.
The fact of the matter is that no Slavery clause had to be added to the Constitution to obtain the consent of the southern states (Virginia, North and South Carolina or Georgia) to ratify that Constitution. It only required 9 of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution and abolish the Articles of Confederation. Those other 9 states could have achieved ratification of the Constitution without any of those four states voting for that Ratification. The Articles of Confederation would have been abolished and the southern states could have either formed their own country or abolished slavery to join the United State after their ratification of that Constitution.
As it was the Ratification of the Constitution was in this manner.
Date State Votes
Yes No
1 December 7, 1787 Delaware 30 0
2 December 11, 1787 Pennsylvania 46 23
3 December 18, 1787 New Jersey 38 0
4 January 2, 1788 Georgia 26 0
5 January 9, 1788 Connecticut 128 40
6 February 6, 1788 Massachusetts 187 168
7 April 26, 1788 Maryland 63 11
8 May 23, 1788 South Carolina 149 73
9 June 21, 1788 New Hampshire 57 47
Constitution is ratified and the Articles of Confederation is abolished. You will note at this point the "United States" are not very United and not very viable as a contigious country. It is actually divided into three segiments.
10 June 25, 1788 Virginia 89 79
11 July 26, 1788 New York 30 27
12 November 21, 1789 North Carolina 194 77
13 May 29, 1790 Rhode Island 34 32
The fact that the two largest Slave holding states (Virginia and North Carolina) had not ratified the Constitution in the two years before it became the law of the land does not seem to give much credit to the idea that parts of the Constitution was written to entice them to ratify that Constitution.