Which of these issues was settled by the Three-Fifths Compromise at the Constitutional Convention?

A) the issue of the length of terms for the members of Congress

B) the issue of how to count the slaves toward representation in Congress

C) the issue of how to choose the President of the United States

D) he issue of the representation of each state in Congress

Question

Leticia Yates

History

12 December, 17:55

Which of these issues was settled by the Three-Fifths Compromise at the Constitutional Convention?

A) the issue of the length of terms for the members of Congress

B) the issue of how to count the slaves toward representation in Congress

C) the issue of how to choose the President of the United States

D) he issue of the representation of each state in Congress

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Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Jacqueline Krause · Answer 1

The correct answer is B.

The desire to include slaves in the population count was a high priority for many southerns. Even though a higher population means paying more in federal taxes, a significant amount of southerners wanted slaves to count in the population. This is because population determines how many representatives a state gets in the US House of Representatives. On the other hand, many Northerners did not want slaves to count, as this would give slave states more political power in the House of Representatives.

Ultimately, the 3/5ths compromise is adopted, which states that for every 5 slaves, 3 will count towards the population of a given state.