Jonah Patel
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It was an attempt to resolve the issue of how to include slaves in a state's total population. This number would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes. The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of agreement | 1787 |
| Type of agreement | Compromise between delegates from the Northern and Southern states |
| What was agreed | Three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives |
| What it gave slaveholders | Enlarged powers in Southern legislatures |
| Who it applied to | Enslaved people |
| Who it didn't apply to | Free Black people and indentured servants |
| Where it is in the U.S. Constitution | Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 |
| What Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment did | Superseded and explicitly repealed the Three-Fifths Compromise |
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What You'll Learn
- The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached during the 1787 US Constitutional Convention
- It counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population
- It determined the number of seats in the House of Representatives
- It determined the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated
- It determined how much money the states would pay in taxes
The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached during the 1787 US Constitutional Convention
The agreement counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population. This was used to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes. The compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney.
The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution:
> Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.
The "other Persons" referred to in the Constitution were slaves. The Three-Fifths Compromise effectively gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states. This was because the compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives.
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It counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population. The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population. This was done for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives, effectively giving the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states.
The compromise was struck to resolve an impasse between slaveholding states and free states. Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. Free states, on the other hand, wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise was an attempt to balance these opposing interests.
The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. This clause states that "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons." The "other Persons" referred to in this clause were slaves.
The Three-Fifths Compromise had significant implications for both representation and taxation. In terms of representation, it reduced the representation of slave states relative to the original proposals, but it was still an improvement over the Northern position of not counting slaves at all. The compromise also tied representation to taxation in the same three-fifths ratio, which reduced the burden of taxation on the slave states.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a contentious issue that reflected the divide between the Northern and Southern states on the issue of slavery. While it was an imperfect solution, the framers of the Constitution prioritized preserving the union and defusing sectional tensions over eradicating slavery.
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It determined the number of seats in the House of Representatives
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It was an attempt to resolve the contentious issue of whether slaves would be counted as part of the population or considered property. Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be considered when determining the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, free states wanted to exclude the counting of slaves in slave states, as those slaves had no voting rights.
The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This is reflected in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons."
The inclusion of three-fifths of slaves in the legislative apportionment gave additional representation in the House of Representatives to slave states compared to free states. For example, in 1793, Southern slave states held 47 of the 105 seats, which would have been 33 had seats been assigned based on the free population. This increased representation gave Southern states more influence on the presidency, the speakership of the House, and the Supreme Court until the American Civil War.
The Three-Fifths Compromise also impacted taxation, as the burden of taxation on slave states was reduced due to the tie between representation and taxation being in the same ratio. Additionally, it influenced the number of presidential electors each state had in the Electoral College.
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It determined the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population. This count would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
The debate was centred around whether slaves would be counted as part of the population or considered property and, as such, not be considered in determining representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. Free states, on the other hand, wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an attempt to resolve this impasse. It counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states. This additional representation in the House of Representatives of slave states compared to the free states gave the Southern states additional influence on the presidency, the speakership of the House, and the Supreme Court until the American Civil War.
The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. It is often interpreted as counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation. However, this interpretation has been disputed, with some arguing that the three-fifths was purely a statistical designation used to determine how many representatives Southern states would have in Congress.
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It determined how much money the states would pay in taxes
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population. This total population count would determine how much money the states would pay in taxes. Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be considered when determining the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. However, free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, as those slaves had no voting rights.
The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This effectively gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states. The "other persons" referred to in the compromise were slaves.
The three-fifths ratio was first proposed in an amendment to the Articles of Confederation on April 18, 1783. This amendment aimed to change the basis for determining a state's wealth, and consequently its tax obligations, from real estate to population. The proposal suggested that taxes "shall be supplied by the several colonies in proportion to the number of inhabitants of every age, sex, and quality, except Indians not paying taxes".
The Three-Fifths Compromise was later repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. This amendment provided that "representatives shall be apportioned ... counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."
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Frequently asked questions
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention regarding the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was used to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives.
In the U.S. Constitution, the Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3.
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