When first written, the Constitution
A treated people of African descent as property.
B explicitly outlawed slavery in the new nation.
C granted people of African descent “equality under the law.”
D did not mention slavery or rights for people of African descent.
The correct answer and explanation is:
Correct Answer: A. Treated people of African descent as property.
Explanation:
When the U.S. Constitution was first written in 1787, it did not use the word “slavery” directly, but it included provisions that treated enslaved people—most of whom were of African descent—as property rather than full persons.
One of the most significant examples of this is the Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3). This clause allowed a state to count three-fifths of its enslaved population when determining representation in the House of Representatives. This was not about recognizing the humanity of enslaved individuals, but rather a compromise between slave-holding and non-slave-holding states about political power. It reduced enslaved people to a fraction of a person for the purpose of representation and taxation, reinforcing their status as property.
Additionally, the Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3) required that enslaved individuals who escaped to free states be returned to their enslavers, further supporting the legal status of people of African descent as property rather than citizens or equals.
Importantly, while the Constitution did not use the term “slavery” until the 13th Amendment (ratified in 1865, which abolished slavery), its early provisions enabled and protected the institution of slavery.
Thus, the correct interpretation of the Constitution’s original treatment of African-descended people is that it institutionalized their status as property, giving legal protection to the practice of slavery without explicitly naming it. The idea of “equality under the law” or outlawing slavery came much later, during and after the Civil War.