What does the Three-fifths Compromise involve in terms of representation?

The Three-fifths Compromise was an agreement made during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that determined how enslaved individuals would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation. Under this compromise, each enslaved person would be counted as three-fifths of a person when apportioning representatives to the House of Representatives and determining direct taxes.

This arrangement was a compromise between Northern and Southern states, where Southern states wanted enslaved people to be fully counted to increase their representation in Congress, while Northern states argued that since enslaved individuals could not vote, they should not be counted at all. The decision to count them as three-fifths was a middle ground that acknowledged the existence of slavery while also limiting the political power that could be derived from it.

In essence, the Three-fifths Compromise had significant implications for the political landscape of the emerging United States, influencing the balance of power between free and slave states. It is an important aspect of understanding the complexities of representation and slavery in American history.