1. Who the Constitution was written for
White men with property
White men without property (eventually)
White women indirectly through their husbands
Not Black Americans
Not Indigenous nations
Not enslaved Africans
Not free Black people
Not immigrants outside the European category
The founding generation openly stated that the new republic was a White republic. James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and others wrote explicitly about preserving a racial hierarchy.
2. The 3/5 clause — what it actually did
The Constitution’s Article I, Section 2 counted enslaved people as three‑fifths of a person for representation and taxation.
This did not mean:
Black people were considered 3/5 human
Black people had 3/5 rights
Black people had partial personhood
It did mean:
Slave states gained extra seats in Congress and extra electoral votes
Enslaved people boosted political power for the very states that oppressed them
It entrenched slavery as a constitutional institution
The clause was a pro‑slavery political weapon, not a measure of humanity — but the effect was still dehumanizing and devastating.
3. The Constitution protected slavery
The original Constitution:
Allowed the international slave trade for 20 more years
Required states to return escaped enslaved people (Fugitive Slave Clause)
Gave disproportionate power to slave states
Prevented Congress from interfering with slavery in states
The founding document was not neutral — it was structurally pro‑slavery.