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Identify Main Ideas:

Why did many of the
northern states object
to including enslaved
people in population
counts?

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

Northern states objected to including enslaved people in population counts due to political representation, economic burden, and moral objections.


Step-by-step explanation:

Many of the northern states objected to including enslaved people in population counts for several reasons. One key reason was political representation. The three-fifths compromise, included in the U.S. Constitution, counted each enslaved person as three-fifths of a free person for determining representation in the House of Representatives. This meant that southern states had a larger population count and therefore more representatives in Congress, giving them greater political power.

Another reason for the objection was economic. Including enslaved people in population counts would have increased the tax burden on states with smaller enslaved populations, as they would have had to contribute more to the federal government. Northern states that had abolished slavery or had smaller enslaved populations did not want to be economically burdened by the inclusion of enslaved people in population counts.

Lastly, there were moral objections to including enslaved people in population counts. Many people in the northern states viewed slavery as immoral and inhumane, and they did not want to be complicit in giving political power to a system they considered unjust.


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