Article I, Sec. II, Paragraph III: The Three-Fifths Clause (1787)
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other Persons.
This means when a state’s population is counted for purposes of representation in government
, and for direct taxation
, the enslaved population will be counted as three-fifths of its overall number. Untaxed Native Americans would not figure into this number.
Slaveholding states get to count their slaves to increase their population numbers. This affects electors and representation in Congress, and will have greater impact on future legislation, the election of the president, and, by extension, Supreme Court appointments.
Article I, Section IX, Clause I: The Importation Clause (1787)
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Meaning if states want to import slaves internationally, the federal government can not interfere for at least another 20 years. However, this importation will be taxed at a rate of no more than $10 per slave.
The authors of the constitution were aware that the international slave trade would eventually be abolished, if for no other reason than the economy would require it, in order to increase demand of domestic trade. This way they would not upset the other signers by trying to be rid of slavery in the colonies . That slavery would end of its own accord.
ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2, CLAUSE 3 (1787)
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
This means if an enslaved person crosses state lines into a state where slavery has been abolished, citizens of that state are obligated to return the slave to their owner.
States who had abolish slavery had to respect the fact that other states had not.