The Three-fifths Compromise was a compromise reached among state delegates during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention due to disputes over how enslaved people would be counted when determining a state's total population. This number would determine a state's number of seats in the House of Representatives and how much it would pay in taxes. The compromise counted three-fifths of each state's enslaved population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. Even though enslaved people were denied voting rights, this gave Southern states a third more Representatives and a third more presidential electoral votes than if enslaved people had not been counted. Free Blacks were not subject to the compromise and counted as one full citizen for representation.
