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What Is the Three-Fifths Compromise About?
- The Articles of Confederation had assigned tax burdens based on land values, which caused states to regularly undervalue their land to lessen the amount of taxes they had to pay. The unfairness of this situation led to the idea of taxing states according to their population.
- The debate centered mostly around representation in Congress, based on population, not taxation.
- Northern states, concerned that southern states would gain too much power in Congress, argued that slaves were property and should not count in the population.
- Southern states, wishing to increase their power in Congress, argued that slaves should be counted.
- Representatives James Wilson and Roger Sherman developed the notion of the Three-Fifths Compromise: each slave would count as three-fifths of a person.
- The Three-Fifths Compromise ultimately increased the political power of the southern states.