As a result of this opening of the traffic in South Carolina, two hundred and two ships brought 39,075 slaves from Africa to Charleston during the years 1804 to 1807, inclusive. According to the official returns of the custom house as gathered by Senator Smith, of that State, and reported to Congress, these ships were divided as follows: "From Connecticut, 1; Boston, 1; Norfolk, 2; Baltimore, 4; Rhode Island, 59; Charleston, 61; Sweden, 1; France, 3; Great Britain, 70." There were only sixty-one ships nominally hailing from Northern ports engaged in the trade. But when one looks to see who reaped the profits, it appears that of the consignees of these slavers "88 were natives of Rhode Island, 13 of Charleston, 10 of France, and 91 of Great Britain."
Rhode Island passed in October, 1787, an act to prevent the importation of slaves into her own territory and to encourage the abolition of slavery in the State. Importation of slaves was prohibited under penalty of a fine of £100 per negro, and £1,000 per ship, but there was nothing in her legislation, or in any other legislation then extant, to prevent her shipowners reaping the profits of the open trade to South Carolina. It was right hard work to induce legislators in those days to shut off absolutely a business wherein a man could make $90,000 profit in one round voyage of a ship worth less than $10,000.
However, as the year 1808 drew nigh, legislation of importance was had. Congress had assumed that it had the right to prohibit the trade beginning with that year, and President Jefferson in his message of December 2, 1806, congratulated Congress "on the approach of the period at which you may interpose
