The debate over slavery in the United States did not start with the Constitutinal Convention during 1787. However, it was known that the issue first came to the fore. There were
different commitment to this idea, some northerns did not like it, but the southerners agreed to it. It was obvious that compromise was needed for the
Constitution to be established. An arrangement was written in to the Constitution
by which for voting purposes slaves would be counted as three-fifths (3/5s) of
a person.
