Compromise And Constitution: The 3/5 Clause

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and Southern states at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The Southern states wanted to count the entire slave population, which would increase their number of members of Congress. The Northern delegates, on the other hand, wanted to count only free persons, including free blacks in the North and South. The Three-Fifths Compromise, which was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, stated that Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States...according to their respective Numbers...by adding to the whole Number of free Persons...three-fifths of all other Persons. The “other persons” referred to slaves. This compromise allowed for the preservation of the republic while also confronting the moral and systemic evils of slavery.

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The 3/5 Compromise was an attempt to preserve the union

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise between delegates from the Northern and Southern states at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The Southern states wanted to count the entire slave population, which would increase their number of members of Congress. The Northern delegates and others opposed to slavery wanted to count only free persons, including free blacks in the North and South.

The Compromise was an attempt to preserve the union by preventing a deadlock between the Northern and Southern states. The Virginia, or large state, plan provided for a bicameral legislature with representation of each state based on its population or wealth. The New Jersey, or small state, plan proposed equal representation for each state in Congress. The deadlock was resolved by the Connecticut, or Great, Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation of the states in the upper house.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of this resolution, as it allowed for representation in the House of Representatives to be apportioned based on a state's free population plus three-fifths of its slave population. This compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, who proposed that for the purposes of apportionment, a "House of Delegates" be determined through the apportionment of "one Member for every thousand Inhabitants, 3/5 of Blacks included."

The Compromise was an attempt to balance the interests of the North and South and to preserve the union by preventing a breakdown in negotiations over the new scheme of government. It is important to note that the Three-Fifths Compromise did not equate to considering black individuals as "three-fifths of a person." Instead, it was a compromise on how to determine representation in the House of Representatives, with the understanding that slaves were considered both persons and property under the law.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was later superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, which provided for representatives to be apportioned based on "the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."

It was proposed by delegate James Wilson

The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The compromise was seconded by Charles Pinckney, who proposed that a "House of Delegates" be determined through the apportionment of "one Member for every thousand Inhabitants, 3/5 of Blacks included." The convention unanimously accepted the principle that representation in the House of Representatives would be proportional to the relative state populations. However, they initially rejected Pinckney's proposal regarding the apportionment of the black population.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an attempt to resolve disagreements over slavery at the Constitutional Convention. The Southern delegates threatened to abandon the convention if enslaved individuals were not counted, as they wanted to count the entire slave population to increase their representation in Congress. On the other hand, the Northern delegates and those opposed to slavery wanted to count only free persons, including free blacks in the North and South.

The compromise agreed that representation in the House of Representatives would be apportioned based on a state's free population plus three-fifths of its enslaved population. This agreement became known as the Three-Fifths Compromise and was included in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. It is important to note that neither the word "slave" nor "slavery" appears in this clause or anywhere in the unamended Constitution.

The Three-Fifths Compromise has been interpreted by some as relegating blacks to "three-fifths of a person" status. However, this interpretation has been disputed, and it is argued that the Constitution does not actually state that blacks are only worth three-fifths of a person. Instead, it is suggested that the compromise was an attempt to preserve the union and confront the evils of slavery while maintaining unity among the states.

The Compromise was an agreement on representation in the House of Representatives

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement on representation in the House of Representatives, included in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. It was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina during the Constitutional Convention. The Compromise resolved a deadlock between delegates from large and small states on the issue of legislative representation. The Virginia, or large state, plan provided for a bicameral legislature with representation based on state population or wealth. On the other hand, the New Jersey, or small state, plan proposed equal representation for each state in Congress.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and Southern states. The Southern states wanted to count the entire slave population to increase their number of members of Congress. The Northern delegates, opposed to slavery, wanted to count only free persons, including free blacks in the North and South. The Compromise called for representation in the House of Representatives to be apportioned based on a state's free population plus three-fifths of its slave population. This agreement was unanimously accepted by the Convention, although it initially rejected Pinckney's proposal regarding the apportionment of the black population.

The Three-Fifths Compromise is often criticised for relegating black people to "three-fifths of a person" status. However, this interpretation is erroneous and does not provide the full context. The U.S. Constitution does not state that black people are three-fifths of a person. Instead, it uses the term "other Persons" to refer to slaves, who were considered as divested of two-fifths of the MAN. This compromise was an attempt to balance the interests of free and slave states, with the Constitution ultimately encouraging freedom over slavery.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was later superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. This amendment provided for representatives to be apportioned based on the whole number of persons in each state, excluding untaxed Indians. While the Three-Fifths Compromise was an imperfect solution to the issue of slavery, it was a compromise that allowed for the preservation of the republic while confronting the moral and systemic evils of slavery.

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It was based on the state's population, including free persons and three-fifths of enslaved persons

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and Southern states at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It was included in the US Constitution as part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was based on the states' populations, including free persons and three-fifths of enslaved persons. This compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina. Pinckney proposed that for the purposes of apportionment, a "House of Delegates" be determined through the apportionment of "one Member for every thousand Inhabitants, 3/5 of Blacks included." The Convention unanimously accepted the principle that representation in the House of Representatives would be proportional to the relative state populations. However, they initially rejected Pinckney's proposal regarding the apportionment of the black population.

The Southern delegates threatened to abandon the convention if enslaved individuals were not counted at all, while delegates opposed to slavery wanted only free inhabitants to be counted for apportionment purposes. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a solution to this dispute, allowing for the preservation of the republic while also confronting the moral and systemic evils of slavery. It was agreed that representation in the House of Representatives would be apportioned based on a state's free population plus three-fifths of its enslaved population. This compromise is often misinterpreted as relegating black individuals to three-fifths of a person, which is not accurate.

The Three-Fifths Compromise was later superseded and explicitly repealed by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, which provided that "representatives shall be apportioned, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." This amendment ensured that all persons, regardless of race or status, were counted equally for representation.

The 3/5 Compromise was repealed in 1868 by the Fourteenth Amendment

The 3/5 Compromise was a compromise struck during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It was included in the Constitution to resolve the issue of how to count a state's total population, which would then 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. Slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted, including slaves, to increase their representation in Congress. On the other hand, free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, as those slaves had no voting rights.

The 3/5 Compromise was agreed upon as a way to resolve this dispute. It stated that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportionment. This compromise allowed the enslavement of Black people to spread and played a role in the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands. It also allowed pro-slavery states to have a disproportionate influence on the presidency, the Supreme Court, and other positions of power.

The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, effectively undermined the 3/5 Compromise by outlawing the enslavement of Black people. However, it was the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, that officially and explicitly repealed the 3/5 Compromise. Section 2 of the 14th Amendment states that seats in the House of Representatives would be determined based on "the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." The repeal of the compromise gave the South more representation, as the formerly enslaved Black population was now fully counted.

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