Some of the ideas of the Constitution did discriminate against minorities. One example is the Three-Fifth Compromise. The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that every five slaves would count as three people when the population of a state was being determined. Population counts were used to determine the number of representatives each state had in the House of Representatives. This section of the Constitution was discriminatory in that it indicated that slaves were viewed primarily as property,...
Some of the ideas of the Constitution did discriminate against minorities. One example is the Three-Fifth Compromise. The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that every five slaves would count as three people when the population of a state was being determined. Population counts were used to determine the number of representatives each state had in the House of Representatives. This section of the Constitution was discriminatory in that it indicated that slaves were viewed primarily as property, allowing their representative value to be put up for debate.
Another example of discrimination was that the Constitution didn’t ban slavery, and it allowed slave trading to exist. They agreed to make no decisions regarding the trading of slaves until 1808. Slavery didn’t end until after the Civil War when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified.
Native Americans also faced discrimination in that they were not considered to be citizens according to the Constitution. The Constitution stated that Congress should control trade with the Native Americans tribes similarly to how it controls trade with foreign entities. Though some tribes undoubtably wanted autonomy, not all Native Americans necessarily wanted to participate in a tribal community and these individuals were not granted the rights and protections of U.S. citizenship.
Finally, women weren’t treated equally in the Constitution by virtue of their total exclusion. For example, women were not guaranteed the right vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified.
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