Revisiting the Three-Fifths Compromise
MHS Event
Andrew M. Schocket, Bowling Green State University
Comment: Jack Rakove, Stanford University
This seminar will workshop a work in progress.
The event is virtual and free of charge.
Continental Congress’s 1783 proposed revision of the Articles of Confederation that the national government “shall be supplied by the several states in proportion to the whole number of free inhabitants, and three-fifths of the number of all other inhabitants” was enshrined in the Constitution to apportion states’ direct taxes and political power. This paper argues that delegates’ experiences with colonial and state head taxes — that is, taxes based upon counting people — provided them deep context for considering the comparative tax valuation or counting of human beings based upon gender, race, age, and legal status.
Join the conversation at the Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar
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The virtual seminar begins at 5:00 PM and will be hosted on the video conference platform, Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information.
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