Clause 1 Essentially, this clause provides that no State may discriminate against residents of any other State. The Fourteenth Amendment "reinforced" this point.

Clause 2 The policy of "interstate extradition" is based upon this clause. It states that upon request, any criminal seeking refuge in another state may be brought back to the original state that he or she fled from.

Clause 3 In essence, this clause provided that slaves or indentured servants could not "earn" their freedom merely by escaping to a free state. This was later nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 when slavery was abolished.