Slavery Debates and the Great Compromise
Read the passage and examine the map about the slavery debates during the Constitutional Convention. Then, answer the questions below about the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Atlantic Slave Trade Compromise. Use evidence from the passage and map to support your answers.
Source 1
The Great Compromise restructured Congress into two houses. The Senate would have equal representation with two votes per state. The House would base state representation on population. Having agreed to base representation in this house on population has created a new, difficult question: Will enslaved people be counted as part of a state’s population? Southern delegates argued to include enslaved people in population counts. Northerners opposed. Gouverneur Morris from New York argued, “then make them citizens and let them vote.” Also, in the Articles of Confederation, Congress was not given the power to regulate trade. Instead, the states were able to control trade, including taxes when trading with other states. This created conflict when some states heavily taxed others, causing economic depression and rebellion. Many delegates realize this conflict will continue unless Congress is given the power to regulate trade. However, this creates a second dispute related to slavery: If Congress can regulate trade, would that also give Congress the power to regulate - and end - the slave trade?
Classroom resource: Issue #3: Slavery Debates, Constitutional Convention, 1790.
Source 2
Map showing slave population in 1790.
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Question 1
What was the Three-Fifths Compromise and how was it seen as a win for the South?
Question 2
How did the delegates at the Constitutional Convention compromise on the Atlantic slave trade?
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