The Three-Fifths Compromise

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement made during the Constitutional Convention that addressed how slaves would be counted when determining a state's population for representation in Congress. Southern states wanted to count enslaved people to increase their representation, while Northern states opposed this idea, arguing that enslaved individuals should not be counted at all.

The compromise stated that each enslaved person would be counted as three-fifths of a person. This compromise highlighted the deep divisions over slavery in the United States and had lasting effects on the political landscape.