why did the constitutional convention agree to the Three-fifths compromise?
The Three-fifths compromise was agreed to at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in order to address the issue of how enslaved individuals should be counted for the purposes of representation in Congress and for taxation. Southern states with large populations of enslaved individuals wanted them to be counted as full persons in order to increase their representation in Congress and therefore their political power. Northern states, on the other hand, did not want enslaved individuals to be counted at all, as they did not have the same rights and freedoms as other residents.
The compromise settled on counting each enslaved individual as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation and taxation. This compromise allowed the Convention to continue and reach a consensus on the issue, ultimately leading to the creation of the United States Constitution.