Question
After the American Revolution, calls for abolishing slavery spread throughout the North. Despite momentum toward abolition in 1787, slavery is implicitly acknowledged in the US Constitution with what is known as the Three-Fifths Compromise. The text does not mention slavery explicitly, but rather that state population will be calculated by “adding to the whole Number of free Persons...three fifths of all other Persons.” The “other Persons” is widely understood to refer to enslaved people. State population determined how a state would be taxed, as well as the number of Congressional representatives it would have. In exchange for higher tax payments, the South received additional seats in Congress. Though many Founding Fathers believed slavery was incompatible with their commitment to liberty, historians note that this compromise served as a silent approval of its continuation. By 1804, every Northern state had outlawed slavery. Still, many Northern businessmen grew rich as a result of investments in Southern plantations, while Northern banks financed the purchase of plantation land.
With which of the following statements would the author of the passage most likely agree?
A
Northern states are also responsible for the spread and continuation of slavery.
B
The Three-Fifths Compromise has nothing to do with slavery.
C
The Constitution mentions the words “slavery” and “slave” several times.
D
Northern bankers believed it was morally wrong to do business with plantations.
With which of the following statements would the author of the passage most likely agree?
A
Northern states are also responsible for the spread and continuation of slavery.
B
The Three-Fifths Compromise has nothing to do with slavery.
C
The Constitution mentions the words “slavery” and “slave” several times.
D
Northern bankers believed it was morally wrong to do business with plantations.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The author of the passage would most likely agree with statement **A: Northern states are also responsible for the spread and continuation of slavery.**
The passage discusses how Northern businessmen became wealthy through investments in Southern plantations and how Northern banks financed plantation land, indicating a complicity in the system of slavery despite the abolitionist momentum in the North. The other statements do not align with the author's views as expressed in the passage.
The passage discusses how Northern businessmen became wealthy through investments in Southern plantations and how Northern banks financed plantation land, indicating a complicity in the system of slavery despite the abolitionist momentum in the North. The other statements do not align with the author's views as expressed in the passage.