Three-Fifths Compromise facts for kids

The Three-Fifths Compromise was an important agreement made in 1787 during the US constitutional convention. This meeting was held to create the rules for how the United States government would work. One big challenge was figuring out how to count the population of each state. The number of people in a state was important because it decided how much power that state would have in the new government, especially when it came to voting for the president and having representatives in Congress.

Counting People and Power

At the time, many states had a large number of enslaved people. A big debate started: Should these enslaved people be counted as part of the state's population? If they were counted, states with many enslaved people would get more power in the government. However, these states would also have to pay more taxes to the new federal government.

Delegates from states with many enslaved people wanted them counted for representation in Congress. But they did not want them counted when it came to paying taxes. On the other hand, delegates from states where slavery was less common argued that enslaved people should be counted for taxes, but not for representation.

The Compromise Solution

The solution they came up with was the Three-Fifths Compromise. This meant that for every five enslaved people, three would be counted for both representation in Congress and for taxation. This was a middle ground between the two sides.

This compromise meant that states with enslaved people got more representation than if enslaved people weren't counted at all. But they got less representation than if every enslaved person was counted as a full person. It also meant that the taxes these states paid were reduced compared to if all enslaved people were fully counted. This agreement helped the states move forward and create the new United States Constitution.

See also

In Spanish: Compromiso de los Tres Quintos para niños