Maybe not corporations, but the wealthy were definitely kicking up a storm over British taxes and import restrictions, and then later driving a lot of the pro-slavery arguments.
No, but powerful slaveholding interests were a major factor in the design of our government. It's the reasons our voting system favors low-population states--because slaves only counted as 3/5 of a person and the slaveholders were worried this would mean less representation in government and the danger that owning slaves would be outlawed.
