Three-fifths Compromise

Three-fifths Compromise was a pivotal agreement reached during the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787. The compromise was between the northern and southern states and was about the apportionment of the population for the purpose of representation in the United States House of Representatives and taxation.

Background

The United States Constitution was being drafted at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. One of the contentious issues was how slaves would be counted for the purpose of representation and taxation. The southern states, where slavery was prevalent, wanted slaves to be counted as full persons, while the northern states, where slavery was less common, opposed this.

The Compromise

The Three-fifths Compromise was proposed by James Wilson and Roger Sherman in July 1787. According to this compromise, three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for representation and taxation purposes. This meant that every five slaves would be counted as three individuals.

Impact

The Three-fifths Compromise had a significant impact on the political landscape of the United States. It gave the southern states more power in the House of Representatives than they would have had if slaves were not counted at all. This increased political power of the South influenced many key decisions related to slavery and its expansion in the years leading up to the American Civil War.

Abolition

The Three-fifths Compromise was effectively nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, which abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, further clarified that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, were to be counted as full persons for representation purposes.

See Also

• United States Constitution
• Slavery in the United States
• American Civil War
• Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
• Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution