The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where only three-fifths of the slave population counted for taxation and representation in Congress. The compromise was designed to satisfy both Northern and Southern states’ demands and gave Southern plantation owners significant political power. The Constitution avoided using the term “slaves,” and the language was designed to give leeway for others than slaves to be counted.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement between the southern and northern states reached at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, during which the basic framework of the United States was established. Under this compromise, only three-fifths of the slave population counted for purposes of taxation and representation in Congress. Counting slaves as part of the population rather than property would give southern states greater political influence.
Like all compromises, the three-fifths compromise began as a dispute. Most Northern states did not want to count slaves at all, arguing that they should be treated as property, since they had no votes or other power. Southern states, however, wanted to treat slaves as people so they could gain greater representation in Congress, solidifying their political power. The North resisted, fearing that counting slaves in this way would increase the South’s apportioned congressional seats, thus making the South extremely formidable.
Eventually, two representatives, James Wilson and Roger Sherman, came up with the three-fifths compromise, designed to satisfy both sides’ demands. Recognizing Southern desire and reaching out to Southern states to encourage them to ratify, the Three-Fifths Compromise allowed the government to count some of the population as slaves, while allaying Northern fears about Southern power.
Of course, many people in the Northern states also kept slaves, but the vast majority of slaves in America at the time worked on Southern plantations as farm laborers. Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, Southern plantation owners gained significant political power, which they used to advance their agenda and political desires.
The language of the Constitution has avoided using the term “slaves”, with the related text which reads: “… shall be determined by adding to the entire Number of Free Persons, including those forced into service for a period of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other people.” Some people have suggested that the language “all other people” meant that the framers of the Constitution opposed slavery and that they wanted to establish a document that was flexible in case slavery was abolished. It is more likely, however, that the language was designed to give leeway so that others than slaves could be counted in this definition, given that slavery was widespread and commonly accepted by the Founders.
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