Whether slavery was to be regulated under the new Constitution was a matter of such intense conflict between the North and South that several Southern states refused to join the Union if slavery were not to be allowed.
Či malo byť otroctvo povolené a malo pokračovať za novej Ústavy, bolo predmetom konfliktu medzi Severom a Juhom, pričom sa niektoré Južné štáty odmietali pripojiť k Únii, ak sa otroctvo neponechá povolené.