9781422274187

Essentially, the Three-Fifths Compromise allowed for three of every five slaves to count toward a state’s population in order to apportion representation in the House. This clause provided slave states with greater leverage in the House of Representatives and thus more influence on legislation and the maneuvers of politics that would shape the growing nation. Since representation in the Senate was equal for all states, proponents of slavery believed that, in order to protect the institution they believed was necessary for economic stability and the preservation of the social order, slavery must be allowed to spread into new territories as Americans moved west. When the Constitution was ratified, the Founding Fathers believed that slavery would eventually die out in the United States. It had already proven unprofitable in the northern states, which were gradually banning slavery. However, the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 created a new demand for laborers to cultivate cotton on large plantations in the Deep South. This resulted in slavery being maintained in the southern states.

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CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR