Which compromise determined how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation?

Which compromise determined how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation?

• A. Great Compromise
• B. Commerce Compromise
• C. Three-Fifths Compromise
• D. Connecticut Compromise

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how the Constitution handled counting people who were enslaved for deciding representation in Congress and for taxes. When the Framers set up how many seats each state would have in the House, they had to decide how enslaved people would be counted in the population. The solution was to count enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for both representation and taxation. This split the difference between Northern and Southern states: it gave slaveholding states more seats than if enslaved people weren’t counted at all, but not as many as if they were counted fully. In other words, it was a political compromise to balance power between free and enslaved populations as the new government took shape. This arrangement was later changed by the 14th Amendment, which moved toward counting all persons for representation, ending the three-fifths rule and transforming how population affected political power.

The idea being tested is how the Constitution handled counting people who were enslaved for deciding representation in Congress and for taxes. When the Framers set up how many seats each state would have in the House, they had to decide how enslaved people would be counted in the population. The solution was to count enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for both representation and taxation. This split the difference between Northern and Southern states: it gave slaveholding states more seats than if enslaved people weren’t counted at all, but not as many as if they were counted fully. In other words, it was a political compromise to balance power between free and enslaved populations as the new government took shape. This arrangement was later changed by the 14th Amendment, which moved toward counting all persons for representation, ending the three-fifths rule and transforming how population affected political power.