The 3/5 Compromise

             The first real battle of the Civil War occurred before the American Revolution. This battle wasn't fought like most other battles; instead of generals trying to outdo the other with weapons, politicians tried to outdo the other with their words. The 3/5's Compromise is said to have started the North verses South conflict. The simple though complex question that was brought up was should slaves be counted in census' to determine the number of congressional delegates a state was to receive? This divided the nation because the North had little slaves, but the South had more slaves than they did salve owners. The North didn't want slaves to be counted because counting slaves would give the South an unfair advantage. The South felt as though the North was trying to make the House of Representatives biased so that the South wouldn't get what they wanted. The 3/5's Compromise called for exactly 60% of the salves in a state to be counted when determining the number of congressional delegates a state should receive. This perhaps left both sides hungry for more, which started the nation in the direction of a civil war.
             The after-effects of the 3/5's compromise also helped send the nation on a one-way road headed for one place...civil war. This road so to speak is that the South forced the government to revoke Congress' right to regulate slave trade. The South wanted to be able to trade for slaves as much as possible because the more they trade the higher the population, the higher the population the more delegates a state would have in the House of Representatives. The North disagreed for the same reason the south agreed; they felt that Congress would give the South too much power. Eventually Congress ended up ruling that they couldn't regulate slave trade for another twenty years. This made the South more content but angered the North. Already one can see the emerging conflicts betwee...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
The 3/5 Compromise. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:29, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/99434.html