POLYAS Election Glossary
We provide explanations and background information on elections, voting rights and digital democracy
We provide explanations and background information on elections, voting rights and digital democracy
The 1787 Three-Fifths Compromise was a highly debated and important topic at the time as it related directly to how the number of seats allocated in the US house of representatives. The larger the population of a state, the larger number of seats it would be allocated in the house of representatives over a ten year period. As with many aspects of politics at the time, the debate quickly turned to slavery. More precisely how or if at all slaves should be counted when determining population numbers.
The compromise led to three-fifths of slaves being counted towards the population. The impact of this decision was to give southern slave states one/third more seats than if slaves had not been included. This ultimately led to slave-owner interests dominating US politics until 1861 and the subsequent outbreak of the civil war.
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