The framers of the Constitution believed that concessions on slavery were the price for the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. But by sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers left the seeds for future conflict.
Explanation:
The argument over whether the Constitution was a pro or anti-slavery document has been going on almost since the founding. William Lloyd Garrison famously called it "an agreement with death and a covenant with hell". But others felt it was anti-slavery in nature.
One thing which helped Southerners maintain slavery was the Senate. If the federal government had had a legislative body based solely on population, the South would have much more quickly found itself outclassed by the faster growing North. Because the Senate guarantees equal representation to all states, and because American politicians kept the sectional peace by admitting an equal number of slave states and free states, the Senate allowed the South to block any anti-slavery measures they didn't like.
