Three-Fifths Compromise affected representation and taxation by counting enslaved people as what fraction for purposes of taxation and representation?

• A. Three-Fifths of the enslaved population
• B. All enslaved people
• C. None of the enslaved people
• D. Two-Fifths of the enslaved population

Answer: (A)

This question tests how enslaved people were counted for determining a state's political power and its share of taxes. In the Constitution, states argued over how to count people for both seats in the House and the direct taxes the federal government could levy. The compromise struck was to count enslaved individuals as three-fifths of a person. That means for every enslaved person, three-fifths of one person was added to the state’s population figure used for apportioning representatives and for calculating taxes. This arrangement gave slaveholding states more representation than if enslaved people were not counted at all, but less than if they were counted as whole persons. Three-fifths of the enslaved population is therefore the correct fraction used for both representation and taxation.