Question

Why did some South Carolina delegates argue that enslaved people should
not be fully counted when determining a state’s population?
A. They believed counting enslaved people would help spread political power more evenly across all states.
B. They wanted Southern states to gain more representation in Congress by increasing their population numbers.
C. They hoped counting enslaved people would lead to the immediate end of slavery.
D. They thought enslaved people would be given the right to vote if they were included in the population count.

Answer 1

B. They wanted Southern states to gain more representation in Congress by increasing their population numbers.

Explanation: Southern delegates argued that enslaved people should be included in state population totals so those states would receive more seats in the House of Representatives. This dispute led to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted each enslaved person as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation.