Delegates Compromise on Commerce and Slavery
Grade 8 students study how delegates to the Constitutional Convention reached compromises on the explosive issues of trade regulation and slavery, including the Three-Fifths Compromise (counting enslaved people as 3/5 of a person for representation), the agreement to end the slave trade by 1808, and the Commerce Compromise giving Congress power to regulate interstate commerce but not tax exports. This topic appears in California myWorld Interactive Grade 8.
Key Concepts
Debates over slavery also involved the economy. Southern states feared the new government would tax their agricultural exports or immediately ban the importation of enslaved people. Northern states wanted the government to have the power to regulate all trade.
To secure the new Constitution, delegates reached another painful compromise. Congress received the power to regulate commerce, but it was forbidden from taxing exports. The agreement also prevented Congress from outlawing the slave trade for 20 years, until 1808.
Common Questions
What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?
The Three-Fifths Compromise was the Constitutional Convention's agreement to count enslaved people as three-fifths of a free person for purposes of taxation and congressional representation, giving Southern states more power.
What compromises did delegates make about slavery at the Constitutional Convention?
Delegates agreed that Congress could not ban the international slave trade until 1808, that enslaved people would count as 3/5 of a person for representation, and that fugitive slaves must be returned to their owners.
What was the Commerce Compromise at the Constitutional Convention?
The Commerce Compromise gave Congress the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce and impose import tariffs, but prohibited taxing exports, protecting Southern agricultural exports like tobacco and cotton.
What chapter covers Constitutional compromises in California myWorld Interactive Grade 8?
California myWorld Interactive Grade 8 covers the compromises on commerce and slavery at the Constitutional Convention in its chapters on the founding of the U.S. government.