Question

three-fifths compromise

1. what was the issue settled by the three-fifths compromise?
2. why did the north think that the slaves should not be counted at all?
3. why did the southern states want the slaves counted?
4. how would the three-fifths compromise work?
5. how did the constitution avoid the term \slave\?
6. how could one prove that the founders accepted slavery?

Explanation:

1. The compromise resolved a dispute over how enslaved people would be counted for congressional representation and tax purposes between Northern and Southern states.
2. Northern states argued enslaved people were not citizens, had no political rights, so counting them would give Southern states unfair political power; they also wanted to limit Southern influence in Congress.
3. Southern states had large enslaved populations, and counting enslaved people would increase their total population, which meant more seats in the House of Representatives and greater political power at the federal level.
4. The rule stated that every five enslaved people would be counted as three individuals for the purposes of calculating a state's total population for representation and direct taxation.
5. The Constitution used indirect language like "all other Persons" and "Person held to Service or Labour" instead of the word "slave" to avoid explicit endorsement of slavery while codifying rules related to enslaved people.
6. Evidence includes the Three-Fifths Compromise itself (which embedded enslaved people into population counts for political structure), clauses that allowed for the continuation of the transatlantic slave trade until 1808, and provisions that required states to return escaped enslaved people to their enslavers.

Answer:

1. It settled whether enslaved people would be counted for congressional representation and federal taxation.
2. They claimed enslaved people had no political rights, so counting them would give Southern states unfair political power.
3. Counting enslaved people would boost their population, giving them more seats in Congress and greater political influence.
4. Every 5 enslaved people were counted as 3 people for population-based representation and taxation.
5. It used vague, indirect phrases such as "all other Persons" and "Person held to Service or Labour" instead of "slave".
6. Through constitutional provisions like the Three-Fifths Compromise, the 1808 deadline for ending the slave trade, and the fugitive slave clause, all of which institutionalized slavery-related rules.