What were the two key provisions addressing slavery in the original Constitution?

What were the two key provisions addressing slavery in the original Constitution?

• A. Abolition of slavery in all states and universal manumission.
• B. Three-Fifths Compromise for counting enslaved people and the Fugitive Slave Clause requiring escaped slaves to be returned.
• C. Slavery would be legal in the North but not in the South.
• D. Slavery was banned in the territories but allowed in states.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how the Constitution addressed slavery without ending it. Two provisions stand out because they shaped political power and how slavery was enforced across states. First, the Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation. This gave Southern states more influence in the House than if enslaved people had not been counted at all, while also balancing concerns from Northern states about population-based representation. It recognizes enslaved people as part of the political framework without granting them personhood in representation. Second, the Fugitive Slave Clause required escaped enslaved people to be returned to their owners, even if they reached free states. This clause protected slaveholding interests across the new nation and ensured that slavery could be maintained across political boundaries. Together, these provisions show how the original Constitution integrated slavery into the framework of national government. Abolition or universal manumission, or regional bans on slavery, are not part of the original text, which is why those other options don’t fit.

The main idea here is how the Constitution addressed slavery without ending it. Two provisions stand out because they shaped political power and how slavery was enforced across states.

First, the Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation. This gave Southern states more influence in the House than if enslaved people had not been counted at all, while also balancing concerns from Northern states about population-based representation. It recognizes enslaved people as part of the political framework without granting them personhood in representation.

Second, the Fugitive Slave Clause required escaped enslaved people to be returned to their owners, even if they reached free states. This clause protected slaveholding interests across the new nation and ensured that slavery could be maintained across political boundaries.

Together, these provisions show how the original Constitution integrated slavery into the framework of national government. Abolition or universal manumission, or regional bans on slavery, are not part of the original text, which is why those other options don’t fit.