Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, which method determined representation?

Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, which method determined representation?

• A. The total slave population counted as full persons
• B. The total free population plus three-fifths of the enslaved population
• C. The combined population of free and enslaved counted as full
• D. Only the free population counted

Answer: (B)

The method used was to count the free population plus three-fifths of the enslaved population for determining representation. This was a negotiated balance at the Constitutional Convention: enslaved people were included in the count, but only as three-fifths of a person. That meant Southern states would gain more representation than if enslaved people weren’t counted at all, while Northern states pushed for not counting enslaved people at full value. The result unified how seats in Congress were allocated by taking the free population and a fraction of the enslaved population, rather than counting all or none of the enslaved people. This arrangement was later changed by the 14th Amendment.

The method used was to count the free population plus three-fifths of the enslaved population for determining representation. This was a negotiated balance at the Constitutional Convention: enslaved people were included in the count, but only as three-fifths of a person. That meant Southern states would gain more representation than if enslaved people weren’t counted at all, while Northern states pushed for not counting enslaved people at full value. The result unified how seats in Congress were allocated by taking the free population and a fraction of the enslaved population, rather than counting all or none of the enslaved people. This arrangement was later changed by the 14th Amendment.