Practice Quiz

AP US Government

Category - Constitution

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What was the “three-fifths compromise”?
  1. The compromise over how many Senators each state would get.
  2. The compromise that, for purposes of representation and taxation, made each “non-free person” (i.e. slave) count as three-fifths of a person.
  3. The compromise between Hamilton and Madison that Hamilton would get to write three-fifths of the Federalist Papers.
  4. The compromise on the number of soldiers each state would provide for the US military.
  5. The compromise over the number of Senators required to overturn a presidential veto.
Explanation
Answer: B - At the Constitutional Convention there was a fight between states that allowed slaves and those that did not over how the slaves should be represented. “Free states” (states that outlawed slavery) argued that slaves should either be allowed to vote or not be counted at all. “Slave states” (states where slavery was legal) wanted slaves to be counted, even though they couldn’t vote, because it would give these states more representation in the House of Representatives. The three-fifths compromise stated that each “non-free person” would count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation.
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