Why did Northern states fight against having enslaved people counted as full citizens?(1 point)

Question

Responses

Northern states knew that they would politically benefit if their population was lower than Southern states.
Northern states knew that they would politically benefit if their population was lower than Southern states.

Northern states viewed enslaved people as property, thus they believed that enslaved people should not be counted as full citizens.
Northern states viewed enslaved people as property, thus they believed that enslaved people should not be counted as full citizens.

Northern states fought to have enslaved people counted as full citizens.
Northern states fought to have enslaved people counted as full citizens.

The South would benefit greatly from having a high population for high political power in the House of Representatives.

Answer 1

The best response is:

Northern states viewed enslaved people as property, thus they believed that enslaved people should not be counted as full citizens.

This reflects the perspective of many Northern states during the debates over representation and slavery in the Constitution, where they argued that enslaved people should not be counted as part of the population for political representation because they considered them property rather than citizens. Consequently, they were concerned about the political power the South would gain if enslaved individuals were counted for representation in Congress.