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The Three-fifths Compromise is a provision in the U.S. Constitution that enabled states to count three-fifths of their enslaved populations toward their tax obligations and representation in Congress. This substantially increased slave states’ political power and significantly reduced their tax burden. (The Three-fifths Compromise was repealed by the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.)
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Three-Fifths Compromise Term Timeline in The Sum of Us
The timeline below shows where the term Three-Fifths Compromise appears in The Sum of Us. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: An Old Story: The Zero-Sum Hierarchy
...in exchange for plantation tobacco, the Constitution gave slave states extra political power through the Three-fifths Compromise , and in 1790 the government officially limited citizenship to “free white persons.” To early...
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Chapter 6: Never a Real Democracy
...rule […] by only the wealthiest of white men.” Non-property owners couldn’t vote, while the Three-fifths Compromise and the Electoral College were designed to tilt power towards slave states. In the 21st...
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