Are black people still considered 3-5?

Asked by: Kamille Johns  |  Last update: June 22, 2025
Score: 4.3/5 (16 votes)

Often misinterpreted to mean that African Americans as individuals are considered three-fifths of a person or that they are three-fifths of a citizen of the U.S., the three-fifths clause (Article I, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution of 1787) in fact declared that for purposes of representation in Congress, enslaved ...

Is the 3-5 rule still in the Constitution?

In the United States Constitution, the Three-fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3.

When did the 3-5 clause end?

The End of the Three-Fifths Compromise

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery. But it took the passage and ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment on July 9, 1868, for the three-fifths clause to be stricken.

Why was it 3:5 and not 1/2?

Most of the south was for the counting of slaves and most of the north was opposed. Finally the founders concluded that every free person should be counted and that 3/5 of the slaves would be counted. This 3/5 was also used in fixing the amount of money to be raised in each state by a direct tax.

Was the 3 5 compromise good or bad?

The three-fifths compromise gave the slave states more representation, but not as much as counting a slave as one, and not less than not counting them. For both sides, this was better than the alternative. Looking at a person out of context, three-fifths of a person is demeaning.

Blacks are Considered 3/5 a HUMAN

42 related questions found

Were slaves counted as 3 5 of a vote?

The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached among state delegates during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It determined that three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation.

Who disagreed with the 3 5 compromise?

Finally, James Madison suggested a compromise: a 5-to-3 ratio. All but two states--New Hampshire and Rhode Island--approved this recommendation. But because the Articles of Confederation required unanimous agreement, the proposal was defeated.

Who did not want slaves to be counted in the census?

Final answer: Delegates from non-slaveholding states did not want slaves to be counted in the census due to the belief that it would lead to unequal representation in Congress. Southern states, in contrast, argued for their inclusion to increase their representation.

What were the three-fifths of the slaves counted for?

Three-fifths compromise, compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and the Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention (1787) that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

What percentage of the U.S. population were slaves in 1776?

While accurate numbers are hard to come by, the American population at the time was approximately 2.1 million; free blacks comprised 2.4 percent of the overall population, and slaves formed 21.5 percent. Fact #2: They Served from First to Last.

When did slavery end?

13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)

How many states would have to approve the Constitution?

The Founding Fathers now had to get the states to agree to the document and to vote in favor of it. Nine states needed to vote for the Constitution for it to be accepted.

When was the 3-5 compromise overturned?

The 13th Amendment of 1865 effectively gutted the three-fifths compromise by outlawing the enslavement of Black people. But when the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, it officially repealed the three-fifths compromise.

What did the original Constitution say about slavery?

Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, is one of a handful of provisions in the original Constitution related to slavery, though it does not use the word “slave.” This Clause prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of “persons” (understood at the time to mean primarily enslaved African persons) where ...

Why did southern states support the Three-Fifths Compromise?

The Southern states wanted to count the entire slave population. This would increase their number of members of Congress. The Northern delegates and others opposed to slavery wanted to count only free persons, including free blacks in the North and South.

Why was Patrick Henry not happy with the Constitution?

Henry, the leading anti-federalist, opposed ratification of the Constitution because he believed that it would create a government that was too distant and powerful; his opposition played a very large role in encouraging the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

What is controversial about the Three-Fifths Compromise?

The ratification of the United States Constitution was the subject of intense debate between 1787 and 1789. One particularly controversial issue was the Three Fifths Compromise, which settled how enslaved people would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation.

What is a power that is not in the Constitution?

The best-known power of the Supreme Court is judicial review, or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution, is not found within the text of the Constitution itself. The Court established this doctrine in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803).

Which group benefited most from the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Answer and Explanation: The Three-Fifths Compromise, reached during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, benefited slave states.

Why were slaves counted as 3/5 of a whole person?

Article one, section two of the Constitution of the United States declared that any person who was not free would be counted as three-fifths of a free individual for the purposes of determining congressional representation. The "Three-Fifths Clause" thus increased the political power of slaveholding states.

Who let the slaves know they were free?

Major General Gordon Granger, Library of Congress Juneteenth and General Orders, No. 3, read on June 19, 1865 announcing that all slaves were free, is one of Galveston's most important historical moments. US President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.

Did Benjamin Franklin support the 3-5 compromise?

Answer and Explanation: No, Benjamin Franklin did not like the Three-Fifths Compromise. Franklin was the president of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and was opposed to the institution of slavery in the United States. Franklin would have wanted slaves to count as whole people with rights and freedoms.

Which states did not ratify the Constitution?

The Constitution encountered stiff opposition. The vote was 187 to 168 in Massachusetts, 57 to 47 in New Hampshire, 30 to 27 in New York, and 89 to 79 in Virginia. Two states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, refused to ratify the new plan of government.

Did the federalists support slavery?

After 1800, as their political base contracted to New England, Federalists were increasingly opposed to slavery, both on principle and because the Three-fifths Compromise gave a political advantage to their opponents, who gained increased representation because of the weight given to disenfranchised enslaved people.