1. ⅗ Compromise

2. Where did the ⅗ compromise begin?
The issue of slavery divided the delegates at the constitutional convention
The argument of whether Slaves should be counted the same as colonists created a big division between the northern and southern colonies
Southern delegates said that slaves should be counted in population as equal to non slaves (mainly because they had more)
Northern delegates said they shouldn’t be counted at all since they couldn’t vote
Congress had to intervene and come to a compromise to please both groups.
Note: Both North & South viewed slaves as means of economic growth.

3. What was the ⅗ compromise?
Congress agreed to the ⅗ compromise
Each slave counted as ⅗ of a free person.
Example: 500 slaves could be counted as 300 free people when calculating a states population
This compromise helped the south who ended up getting more seats in the house of representatives which was based on population
The north agreed to this but didn’t like it

4. What was the fall out of this compromise?
This compromise hurt African Americans, and further degraded them
It preserved slavery in the new Constitution by making a distinction between “free persons” and “all other persons”
Some Northern delegates wanted to ban the buying and selling of slaves anywhere in the country, but the South protested that this would hurt their economy
Another compromise was reached: Ships could bring in slaves to the country for 20 years, but after that Congress would not allow new slaves to be brought to the US.
This compromise did not change the slave trade within the US states that already existed.

5. Political and Moral Implications
The ⅗ compromise was eventually overturned when slavery was banned in 1865 (almost 100 yrs later!)
Many Northern delegates did not feel it was fair for the South to utilize the majority of slaves
Southern delegates who used more slaves defended their economic interest.
This was the beginning of the fight between the North and the South with Slavery…..which led to the Civil War
During this time neither north or south viewed slaves as people. Much later (100+ years) the moral injustice of slavery will come forward in the US government.