Which states benefited the most from the Three Fifths Compromise?
Which states benefited the most from the three fifths compromise? The Three-Fifths compromise was a compromise between Southern and Northern states and benefited states with slave populations What was the three fifths comprimise?
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise?
In the United States Constitution, the Three-fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3. Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) later superseded this clause and explicitly repealed the compromise.
What was the most important compromise at the Constitutional Convention?
This Compromise set the stage for future compromises at the Convention. One of the most important was theThree-Fifths Compromise that dealt with the issue of the counting of slaves for the purpose of taxation and representation.
How did the compromise reduce the representation of the slave states?
After a contentious debate, the compromise that was finally agreed upon—of counting "all other persons" as only three-fifths of their actual numbers—reduced the representation of the slave states relative to the original proposals, but improved it over the Northern position.
What groups did the 3/5 compromise affect?
Three-fifths compromise, compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and the Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention (1787) that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.
What states most benefited from the 3/5ths compromise?
Because Southern states had many more slaves than did Northern states, the Three-Fifths Compromise benefited Southern states more than it did Northern states in terms of representation in the House of Representatives.
Who supported the Three-Fifths Compromise?
The Continental Congress debated the ratio of slaves to free persons at great length. Northerners favored a 4-to-3 ratio, while southerners favored a 2-to-1 or 4-to-1 ratio. Finally, James Madison suggested a compromise: a 5-to-3 ratio. All but two states--New Hampshire and Rhode Island--approved this recommendation.
Who opposed the 3/5 compromise?
Massachusetts Anti-FederalistsThe ratification of the United States Constitution was the subject of intense debate between 1787 and 1789.
Why was the Three Fifths Compromise reached?
The Three-fifths Compromise was a compromise reached among state delegates during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention due to disputes over how slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population. This number would determine a state's number of seats in the House of Representatives and how much it would pay in taxes.
Why did the Three Fifths compromise favor the Southern states?
While the Three-fifths Compromise could be seen to favor Southern states because of their large slave populations, for example, the Connecticut Compromise tended to favor the Northern states (which were generally smaller). Support for the new Constitution rested on the balance of these sectional interests.
What happened after the Reconstruction Era?
After the Reconstruction Era came to an end in 1877, the former slave states subverted the objective of these changes by using various strategies to disenfranchise their black citizens, while obtaining the benefit of apportionment of representatives on the basis of the total populations.
What was the proposed ratio?
The proposed ratio was, however, a ready solution to the impasse that arose during the Constitutional Convention. In that situation, the alignment of the contending forces was the reverse of what had been obtained under the Articles of Confederation in 1783.
How many seats did the slave states have in 1812?
In 1812, slave states had 76 seats out of 143 instead of the 59 they would have had; in 1833, 98 seats out of 240, instead of 73. As a result, Southern states had additional influence on the presidency, the speakership of the House, and the Supreme Court until the American Civil War.
What is the 3/5 ratio?
The three-fifths ratio originated with an amendment proposed to the Articles of Confederation on April 18, 1783. The amendment was to have changed the basis for determining the wealth of each state, and hence its tax obligations, from real estate to population, as a measure of ability to produce wealth. The proposal by a committee of the Congress had 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 South immediately objected to this formula since it would include slaves, who were viewed primarily as property, in calculating the amount of taxes to be paid. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in his notes on the debates, the Southern states would be taxed "according to their numbers and their wealth conjunctly, while the northern would be taxed on numbers only".
Why was representation important in the Constitutional Convention?
In the Constitutional Convention, the more important issue was representation in Congress, so the South wanted slaves to count for more than the North did. Much has been said of the impropriety of representing men who have no will of their own.... They are men, though degraded to the condition of slavery.
Origins of The Three-Fifths Compromise
How The Compromise Affected Politics in The 19th Century
- The three-fifths compromise had a major impact on U.S. politics for decades to come. It allowed pro-slavery states to have a disproportionate influence on the presidency, the Supreme Court, and other positions of power. It also resulted in the country having a roughly equal number of states that opposed and favored enslavement. Some historians contend that major events in U.S. histo…
Repeal of The Three-Fifths Compromise
- The 13th Amendment of 1865 effectively gutted the three-fifths compromise by outlawing the enslavement of Black people. But when the 14th Amendmentwas ratified in 1868, it officially repealed the three-fifths compromise. Section 2 of the amendment states that seats in the House of Representatives were to be determined based on “the whole number of persons in each State…
Sources
- Henretta, James, and W. Elliot Brownlee, David Brody, Susan Ware, and Marilynn S. Johnson. America's History, Volume 1: to 1877. New York: Worth Publishers, 1997. Print.
- Applestein, Donald. “The Three-Fifths Compromise: Rationalizing the Irrational.” National Constitution Center, Feb. 12, 2013.
- “Indian Removal: 1814-1858.” PBS.org.
- Henretta, James, and W. Elliot Brownlee, David Brody, Susan Ware, and Marilynn S. Johnson. America's History, Volume 1: to 1877. New York: Worth Publishers, 1997. Print.
- Applestein, Donald. “The Three-Fifths Compromise: Rationalizing the Irrational.” National Constitution Center, Feb. 12, 2013.
- “Indian Removal: 1814-1858.” PBS.org.
- Philbrick, Steven. “Understanding the Three-Fifths Compromise.” San Antonio Express-News, Sept. 16, 2018.
Overview
The Three-fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the counting of slaves in determining a state's total population. This count would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives and how much each state would pay in taxes. 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 Representative…
Text
In the U.S. Constitution, the Three-fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3:
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' [italics added].
Drafting and ratification
The three-fifths ratio originated with an amendment proposed to the Articles of Confederation on April 18, 1783. The amendment was to have changed the basis for determining the wealth of each state, and hence its tax obligations, from real estate to population, as a measure of ability to produce wealth. The proposal by a committee of the Congress had suggested that taxes "shall be supplied by the several colonies in proportion to the number of inhabitants of every age, sex, an…
Before the Civil War
By including three-fifths of slaves (who had no voting rights) in the legislative apportionment, the Three-fifths Compromise provided additional representation in the House of Representatives of slave states compared to the free states. In 1793, for example, Southern slave states had 47 of the 105 seats, but would have had 33 had seats been assigned based on free populations. In 1812, slave states had 76 seats out of 143 instead of the 59 they would have had; in 1833, 98 se…
After the Civil War
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) later superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the compromise. It provides that "representatives shall be apportioned ... counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." A later provision of the same clause reduced the Congressional representation of states who denied the right to vote to adult male citizens, but this provision was never effectively enforced. (The Thirtee…
See also
• Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
• Emancipation Proclamation
• Section 127 of the Australian Constitution, excluding Australian Aboriginals from the census for purposes of determining allocation of seats in Parliament
Bibliography
• Feldman, Noah (2017). The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-9275-5.
• Pildes, Richard H. (October 18, 2013) [2000]. "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon". Constitutional Commentary. 17. SSRN 224731.
• Story, Joseph L. (1833). Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. Vol. 2. Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Hilliard, Gray, and Company; Brown, Shattuck a…
• Feldman, Noah (2017). The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-9275-5.
• Pildes, Richard H. (October 18, 2013) [2000]. "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon". Constitutional Commentary. 17. SSRN 224731.
• Story, Joseph L. (1833). Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. Vol. 2. Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Hilliard, Gray, and Company; Brown, Shattuck and Co.