why were black people counted as three fifths of a person?

Question

what was the reason for it?

Answer 1

look at american history and you'll have your answer...Okay.... i'll tell you..... it's because people were, and still are , by the looks of some answers given.... RACIST....AND NOT TO MENTION IDIOTIC

Answer 2

Filthy dirty politics, pure and simple. The south was more sparsely populated than the north. This meant the north had an advantage in congressional representation, since the House is based on a state's population. All states are equal in the Senate, two apiece. So, despite the fact that slaves weren't voters, and indeed, weren't even considered real people by the standards of the time, a political compromise was reached allowing the southern states to count slaves within their borders in order to increase their congressional representation. However, it wasn't a one-for-one exchange. The compromise allowed southern states to count each slave as 3/5 of a person. This inflated their representation in congress, but not as much as if slaves were counted as full-fledged people. Reality bites, doesn't it?

Answer 3

The slave states wanted to count slaves for population, so that they would get more representation. Of course they weren't going to let the slaves actually vote for "their" representatives. So effectively the slave owners were going to have more representatives in Congress than free citizens in non-slave states. You can see how unfair that would be.

The non-slave states would just as soon there not be any slaves, but failing that, that the slaves with no vote would not be "represented" by congressmen elected by slave owners. They believed they had to come up with a compromise in order to hold the country together, because neither side was strong enough to stand as its own country.

So they came up with the three-fifths comromise, and the slave states still got over-represented in the congress, just not as much.

Only slaves...not free black people...were counted that way. Free men were counted as whole.

The whole sorry business came to an end with the Civil War, of course.

Answer 4

Black people were counted as three fifths of a person because some narrow minded individuals did not think that a black person should be counted as a whole. It was another way to demoralize and oppress black people and not give them the same opportunity or presence as their white counterparts. Isn't it sad that some people must degrade others to elevate themselves? Talk about a narrow mind.

Answer 5

No. The structure replaced into no longer touching on fee by 'fee.' It replaced into touching on how a lot slaves might want to count number in the route of representation (thus, 3/5). It replaced into drawn up that thanks to fulfill both those who hostile slavery, and those who were for it. at the same time as a census replaced into taken, the slaves might want to purely count number as 3/5. the following is the section you're touching on: "Representatives and direct Taxes will be apportioned between different States that could be coated interior of this Union, in accordance to their respective Numbers, which will be determined by including to the completed type of loose persons, including those sure to service for a time period of Years, and with the exception of Indians no longer taxed, 3 fifths of all different persons."

Answer 6

the south wanted the black slaves to count as votes towards there state populations but the north states said that because blacks were slaves and not citizens they could not count. (The bigger the population the more power the south had in congress) The 3/5s votes was a compromise the congress made. Compromise between southren states and northern staes

Answer 7

yes.they did it when the states finally were uniting.The south had a large population and most were slaves and since they wanted represenatation they asked for slaves to be counted three-fifths.Hopefuly it helps.

Answer 8

Because the black people used to be slaves and the whites back then thought that black people weren't as good as the whites. therefore, they were just considered 3/5 of a white man. :(

Answer 9

just plain ignorance

Answer 10

cause thats all they are worth, and lucky they got that