Constitutional Studies

Three- Fifths Compromise

In the Presidential Election of 1800 Thomas Jefferson received 73 electoral votes compared to John Adam's 65. Because of the 3/5th's Compromise, The compromise gave the slave states 14 extra electoral votes and Jefferson received 12 of the 14. Without the 3/5th's compromise Adams would have won the election by a margin of 65 to 61.

10 of the first 12 Presidents owned slaves and 18 of the first 31 Supreme Court Justices owned slaves.

Ironically the 14 extra electoral vote given to the slave states did represent the slaves, they represented the best interests of owners of the slaves.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Broaders on March 30, 2022 at 5:48am

If the Northern States did not agree to the 3/5th's Compromise the states of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia would not have ratified the Constitution. This compromise made the ratification of the Constitution possible, but it also planted the seeds that led to the Civil War.