Question

The best characteristic statement for the attitude of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention toward the issue of slavery was that
A. The delegates were indifferent to the issue of slavery
B. The delegates recognized the need for the expansion of slavery as the nation grew
C. The delegates treated slavery as a political issue because it threatened the unity of the nation
D. There was a deep concern among the delegates for the plight of the African slave
E. The Southern states viewed their role with regard to the slaves as a paternalistic one

Answer 1

Hint: The Constitutional Convention was an important gathering which took place in the year 1787 among various delegates in Philadelphia to help address the problems of the weak central government.

Complete Answer:
The question of settling or not settling on slavery has been a central issue in American politics and history for more than two hundred years. Many of the founding fathers of the constitution such as George Washington and James Madison acknowledged that slavery violated the ideal of liberty which was considered an important aspect of the American Revolution. In the Constitutional Convention, around 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, there were several major issues which were present and out of which the agenda of slavery was also one among them because it was both a political as well as a social issue which had an impact on the unity of the nation. Three fifths of the delegates opined that about 60 percent of the enslaved people in each state would count and be a part of congressional representation, from both the North as well as the Southern states where the population of those states would be counted for determining direct taxation and their representation in the House of Representatives.
In the convention, the delegates also debated whether to allow the new federal government to ban the importation of enslaved people from outside of the United States, particularly from Africa to which they ultimately agreed to allow the Congress to ban the import of slaves. However, this decision was remarkably one of the only clauses of the Constitution that could be amended and during the year 1808, the United States formally put an end to the practice of international slave trade.
So, the correct answer is Option C.


Note: This decision however was remarkably one of the only clauses of the Constitution that could be amended and during the year 1808, the United States formally put an end to the practice of international slave trade.