How did America’s Constitutional Convention of 1787 deal with the discord between pro- and anti-slavery delegates?

Answer: The Constitutional Convention of 1787 had to address the deeply contentious issue of slavery as it worked to create a new framework of government. The delegates at the convention represented a nation with deeply divided views on slavery. Some Northern states had begun the process of abolishing slavery, while Southern states largely depended on slave labor for their economic viability.

Delegates from Southern states, where slavery was integral to their agricultural economy, sought to protect their interests; this meant ensuring that slavery would not be prohibited by the new Constitution. Northern delegates, on the other hand, were more concerned with the issue of representation and the balance of power between the states.

To deal with the discord, a series of compromises were made:

1. The Three-Fifths Compromise: To resolve the conflict over how enslaved people would be counted when determining each state's population for representation and taxation, it was agreed that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted. This allowed Southern states to have greater representation in Congress than if only free persons were counted but less than if all slaves were included as full persons.

2. Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise: Northern and Southern states had differing views on the role of the federal government in regulating commerce, including the trade of slaves. To gain support from Southern states for federal control over foreign and interstate commerce, Northern delegates agreed to a compromise wherein Congress would not interfere with the slave trade for at least twenty years beyond the ratification of the Constitution, setting that date at 1808. It was also agreed that no tax would be levied on the exportation of goods from any state.

3. Fugitive Slave Clause: The Constitution included a provision (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3) that required states to return fugitive enslaved people to their owners.

These compromises were essential in the short-term for keeping the convention together and ultimately for the ratification of the Constitution. However, they also set the stage for future conflicts over slavery that would ultimately lead to the Civil War in the nineteenth century.