Massachusetts Anti-Federalists Oppose the Three-Fifths Compromise
The ratification of the United States Constitution was the subject of intense debate between 1787 and 1789. One particularly controversial issue was the Three Fifths Compromise, which settled how enslaved people would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia had agreed that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for representation purposes, thus giving southern states greater representation in the House while remaining exempt from paying taxes on the other two-fifths of the slave population. Although the authors of this article from 1788 focus on the second aspect of the Compromise, it was the issue of representation in Congress that proved to have far greater consequences. Southern states gained disproportionate power in determining issues (particularly those related to slavery) while denying the vote to vast segments of their populations.
In the first place, as direct taxes are to be apportioned according to the numbers in each state, and as Massachusetts has none in it but what are declared free men, so the whole, blacks as well as whites, must be numbered; this must therefore operate against us, as two fifths of the slaves in the southern states are to be left out of the numeration. Consequently, three Massachusetts infants will increase the tax to equal to five sturdy full grown negroes of theirs, who work every day in the week for their masters, saving the Sabbath, upon which they are allowed to get something for their own support. We can see no justice in this way of apportioning taxes. Neither can we see any good reason why this was consented to on the part of our delegates.
Source | Herbert J. Storing, ed., The Complete Anti-Federalist, vol. 6 (University of Chicago Press, 1981), 256.
Creator | Consider Arms, Malachi Maynard, Samuel Field
Item Type | Article/Essay
Cite This document | Consider Arms, Malachi Maynard, Samuel Field, “Massachusetts Anti-Federalists Oppose the Three-Fifths Compromise,” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed May 24, 2024, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/506.
FAQs
The compromise helped gather enough support for the Constitution to ensure its ratification and led to the adoption of the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights. Anti-Federalists feared the Constitution would lead to an over-centralized government and diminish individual rights and liberties.
Did Anti-Federalists support the 3-5 compromise? ›
Massachusetts Anti-Federalists Oppose the Three-Fifths Compromise.
Was Massachusetts a federalist or an anti-federalist? ›
The Massachusetts Convention was closely divided between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. And two of the state's leading voices—Samuel Adams and John Hanco*ck—emerged as critics of the Constitution.
What issue did the Three-Fifths Compromise deal with ______? ›
The Three-fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population.
What was the 3 5 compromise in Massachusetts? ›
The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached among state delegates during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It determined that three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation.
Why did Massachusetts oppose the Constitution? ›
Massachusetts had the largest convention of any state, and a fundamental disagreement divided the 364 delegates: Federalists supported a strong central government and the Constitution as written; Anti-Federalists held that a centralized government would concentrate power in the hands of the elite and lead to the ...
What did Anti-Federalists want? ›
When it came to national politics, they favored strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties.
Who were the 3 main Anti-Federalists? ›
The Anti-Federalists opposed the new Constitution. The Anti-Federalist camp included a group of founding-era heavyweights, including: Virginia's George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee.
What did the Massachusetts Compromise do? ›
The solution was known as the Massachusetts Compromise, in which four States ratified the Constitution but at the same time sent recommendations for amendments to the Congress. James Madison introduced 12 amendments to the First Congress in 1789.
Why was the 3-5 compromise important? ›
Under the compromise, every enslaved American would be counted as three-fifths of a person for taxation and representation purposes. This agreement gave the Southern states more electoral power than they would have had if the enslaved population had been ignored entirely.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an essential part of the creation of the new constitution to gain the support of the states of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. People who were enslaved were significant parts of the population of these states.
Did Anti-Federalists support slavery? ›
Anti-Federalists Oppose Slavery Provisions in Constitution.
How did the Three-Fifths Compromise solve a difficult problem at the convention? ›
The Three-Fifths Compromise settled matters of representation when it came to the enslaved population of southern states and the importation of enslaved Africans. The Electoral College settled how the president would be elected.
What was the main issue that led to the Three-Fifths Compromise quizlet? ›
Why was the "Three-Fifths Compromise" created? Southern slave owners wanted slaves counted for the purpose of representation (as people) and taxation (as property).
What problem was the Three-Fifths Compromise intended to solve quizlet? ›
what issue did the three-fifths compromise solve? It solved the problem over how to count slaves when determining a state's population for taxation and representation purposes.
What was the compromise between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists? ›
Great Compromise
Also known as the Connecticut Compromise, a major compromise at the Constitutional Convention that created a two-house legislature, with the Senate having equal representation for all states and the House of Representatives having representation proportional to state populations.
What happened in the Massachusetts Compromise? ›
The solution was known as the Massachusetts Compromise, in which four States ratified the Constitution but at the same time sent recommendations for amendments to the Congress. James Madison introduced 12 amendments to the First Congress in 1789.
Which states supported the Three-Fifths Compromise and why? ›
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an essential part of the creation of the new constitution to gain the support of the states of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. People who were enslaved were significant parts of the population of these states.
Why did people oppose the Great Compromise? ›
When delegates from small states objected to this idea, delegates from the larger states argued that their states contributed more of the nation's financial and defensive resources than small states and therefore ought to have a greater say in the central government.
