Final answer:
The Constitution protected slavery by allowing the importation of enslaved people and the domestic slave trade, as well as requiring the return of escaped slaves.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Constitution provided protections for slavery in several ways. First, Article I postponed the abolition of the foreign slave trade until 1808, allowing slaveholding states to import enslaved people. Additionally, the Constitution did not place restrictions on the domestic slave trade, which allowed the sale of enslaved people between states. Furthermore, Article IV of the Constitution included a fugitive slave clause, which required the return of escaped slaves to their original states.