Founders Who Negotiated The 3/5S Rule

The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was a highly contested agreement reached during the United States Constitutional Convention. The compromise was negotiated by state delegates, including James Wilson, Roger Sherman, and Charles Pinckney, and pertained to the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. This population count would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes for each state, and the amount of taxes paid by the states. The Three-Fifths Compromise, found in Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution, allowed Southern states to count three-fifths of their enslaved population, effectively increasing their political power and representation in the House of Representatives relative to the North.

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The Three-Fifths Compromise

It is important to note that the Three-Fifths Compromise did not relegate blacks to "three-fifths of a person" status, as some have claimed. This interpretation is a distortion of the Constitution that only serves to intensify the societal divide in America. The compromise was an attempt to address the controversial issue of slavery while securing the unity and independence of the United States.

The 1787 Constitutional Convention

The convention was initially intended to revise the Articles of Confederation and devise the first system of federal government. However, leading proponents of the convention, including James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, sought to create an entirely new frame of government. The delegates elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army, to serve as president of the convention.

A significant portion of the convention was devoted to debating the issue of slavery, including the inclusion of a fugitive slave clause, the potential abolition of the slave trade, and whether enslaved individuals should be counted for purposes of proportional representation. The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the convention. The compromise stated that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted towards 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.

The convention ultimately debated and ratified the Constitution of the United States, making it one of the most significant events in American history. The Constitution established a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting foreign relations. It created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches.

The issue of slavery

The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. The issue of slavery was a contentious topic during the drafting of the United States Constitution. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were faced with the challenge of balancing the interests of the Northern and Southern states while also addressing the moral dilemma posed by slavery.

The Southern states, which had a significant slave population, argued that slaves should be included in their population counts. This would give them more representation in the House of Representatives and, consequently, more political power. On the other hand, the Northern states objected to this proposal, as slaves did not have the right to vote or enjoy the same privileges as White citizens.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a result of this negotiation. It stated that for the purposes of taxation and representation, each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person. While this compromise did not directly address the immorality of slavery, it was seen as a step towards preserving the union and confronting the systemic evils of slavery. James Madison, in Federalist No. 54, explained that the compromise regarded slaves as "inhabitants, but as debased by servitude below the equal level of free inhabitants".

The compromise also had financial implications, as the number of representatives determined how much money each state would pay in taxes. Additionally, the delegates passed a clause that allowed slave owners to reclaim escaped slaves, further perpetuating the institution of slavery.

The Three-Fifths Compromise remained in effect until 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified and explicitly repealed the compromise. The compromise was a reflection of the complexities and challenges faced by the founding fathers in drafting a constitution that balanced the interests of all states while also grappling with the issue of slavery.

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The Southern states' power

The Three-Fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement between delegates from the Northern and Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention. The compromise allowed for three-fifths of the enslaved population to be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the North.

The Southern states wanted their entire population, including slaves, to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, the Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations, as slaves had no voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a resolution to this dispute. 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 effectively increased the Southern states' representation in the House and, by extension, their political power.

The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of 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 "other Persons" referred to in this clause were slaves.

While the Three-Fifths Compromise did grant the Southern states additional power in the House of Representatives, it is important to note that it did not entirely encourage slavery. In fact, some argued that the Constitution encouraged freedom by giving an increase of "two-fifths" of political power to free over slave states. Additionally, the Constitution did not forbid a coloured man from voting. However, the compromise did perpetuate the overrepresentation of slaveholding states in national politics and failed to address the evils of slavery.

The power of the Southern states continued well into the 20th century, with the Southern bloc in Congress, comprising Southern Democrats, maintaining a strong presence until the 1960s. This bloc was able to defeat federal legislation against racial violence and abuses in the South, until it was eventually overcome by the civil rights movement.

The Northern states' objections

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It was a compromise between delegates from the Northern and Southern states. The compromise was that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

The Northern states objected to the Three-Fifths Compromise because they believed that it gave too much power to the Southern states. The North wanted slaves to count for more than the South did when it came to determining taxes paid by the states to the federal government. This was because the North wanted to reduce the political power of the slaveholding states. They knew that representation and taxation went together, and that excluding two-fifths of slaves in the legislative apportionment based on population would provide reduced representation in the House of Representatives for slave states compared to free states.

The Northern states also objected to the compromise because they believed that it reinforced the institution of slavery. They sought to make representation dependent on the size of a state's free population. The North wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, as those slaves had no voting rights. They wanted to confront the moral and systemic evils of slavery.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an imperfect solution that allowed for the preservation of the republic while also confronting the moral and systemic evils of slavery. The compromise was later repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.

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