explain the three fifths compromise
Your School Subject is History, not college.
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The Three-Fifths Compromise was a key component of the United States Constitution and played a significant role in the history of slavery in America. It was a political agreement reached in 1787 between representatives from the slave-holding Southern states and the non-slave-holding Northern states. The compromise addressed the contentious issue of how enslaved individuals would be counted towards a state's population for the purposes of taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.
Here's how the Three-Fifths Compromise worked:
1. Context: Slavery was legal in the Southern states, and slaves were considered property rather than citizens. The Southern states wanted to include enslaved individuals in their state population count for political representation purposes, as this would give them more seats in the House of Representatives.
2. Population Count: The compromise stipulated that for the purposes of determining a state's population, enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person. This means that for every five slaves, the state would count three individuals towards its population count.
3. Taxation: In addition to representation, the population count also determined a state's share of direct taxes. The Southern states wanted to minimize their tax burden, so they argued that since enslaved individuals were considered property, they should be excluded from taxation altogether. However, the compromise did not address this issue directly and left it to future legislation.
4. Ratification: The Three-Fifths Compromise was agreed upon during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. It was later included in the United States Constitution, specifically in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3.
The Three-Fifths Compromise had significant implications for the representation and power dynamics between the slave-holding Southern states and the non-slave-holding Northern states. It granted the Southern states greater political influence and perpetuated the institution of slavery for many years to come. The compromise was eventually rendered obsolete with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, which abolished slavery in the United States.