Question

Which of the following statements is accurate regarding the Three-Fifths Compromise and the issue of slavery?
A. The compromise guaranteed that a person who escaped slavery could not be returned to an owner.
B. The compromise banned slavery only in Southern states.
C. The compromise outlined how slavery would be abolished over the next 20 years.
D. The compromise allowed the slave trade to continue for the next 20 years.

Answer 1

The accurate statement regarding the Three-Fifths Compromise and the issue of slavery is:

**D. The compromise allowed the slave trade to continue for the next 20 years.**

The Three-Fifths Compromise, reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, determined that enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation in Congress. It did not address the escape of enslaved individuals, ban slavery in any states, or outline an abolition plan. However, the compromise did include a provision in the Constitution that protected the slave trade from being banned for 20 years, until 1808.