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The three-fifths compromise was a compromise between http://www.answers.com/topic/the-south and http://www.answers.com/topic/northern-united-states reached during the http://www.answers.com/topic/1787 http://www.answers.com/topic/constitutional-convention in which only three-fifths of the population of http://www.answers.com/topic/slavery would be counted for http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states-census purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the http://www.answers.com/topic/apportionment-politics of the members of the http://www.answers.com/topic/house-of-representatives. It was proposed by delegate http://www.answers.com/topic/james-wilson. Delegates opposed to http://www.answers.com/topic/history-of-slavery-in-the-united-states generally wished to count only the free inhabitants of each state for the purposes of Congressional apportionment. Delegates supportive of slavery, on the other hand, generally wanted to count slaves at their actual numbers. Since slaves could not vote, citizens of states in which slavery was legal would thus have the benefit of increased representation in the http://www.answers.com/topic/house-of-representatives and the http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states-electoral-college; taxation was only a secondary issue. The final compromise of counting slaves as only three-fifths of their actual numbers had the effect of giving the slave states disproportionate political power in the U.S. government from the establishment of the Constitution until the Civil War. The three-fifths compromise is found in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states-constitution: : "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including http://www.answers.com/topic/indentured-servant, and excluding http://www.answers.com/topic/american-indian not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons." The three-fifths ratio was not a new concept. It originated with a 1783 amendment proposed to the http://www.answers.com/topic/articles-of-confederation. The amendment was to have changed the basis for determining the wealth of each state, and hence its tax obligations, from real estate to population, as a measure of ability to produce wealth. The North had proposed counting all the slaves; the South insisted that slaves were not as productive as free workers, and suggested counting half the slaves. After proposed compromises of 2/3 and 3/4 failed to gain sufficient support, Congress finally settled on the three-fifths ratio proposed by http://www.answers.com/topic/james-madison. But this amendment ultimately failed, falling two states short of the unanimous approval required for amending the Articles of Confederation (only New Hampshire and New York were opposed). The proposed ratio was, however, a ready solution to the impasse that arose during the Constitutional Convention. In that situation, the alignment of the contending forces was the reverse of what had obtained under the Articles of Confederation. In amending the Articles, the North wanted slaves to count for more than the South did, because the objective was to determine taxes paid by the states to the federal government. In the Constitutional Convention, the more important issue was representation in Congress, so the South wanted slaves to count for more than the North did.

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The Great Compromise is also known as the Connecticut Plan. It was the final decision about representation in Congress. Congress would be made into two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The membership would be based on population and equality.



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what was the Great Compromise

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Q: When was the great comprimise?
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