The Three-Fifths Compromise

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After researching about the Three-Fifths Compromise, I deepened my understanding about the struggle for Civil Rights. When the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, some northern delegates claimed that, “... all slaves of a particular state are to be counted as three-fifths of a white person”(Jensen, 14). This statement shows that the slaves were not valued as a full human which is an example of overt racism. More specifically, it denies the humanity of the slaves. In addition, after the Three-Fifths Compromise was approved, “...the southern states had nearly 45 percent of the seats in the first U.S. Congress”(Douglass, 20). This shows that the southern states increased its political power in Congress after the document was signed. However,