Which clause counted enslaved people as 3/5 of a person?

• A. The Three-Fifths Clause
• B. The Commerce Clause
• C. The Elastic Clause
• D. The Supremacy Clause

Answer: (A)

This question tests understanding of how enslaved people were counted for representation in Congress. The Three-Fifths Compromise said that enslaved people would be counted as three-fifths of a person when determining a state's population for seats in the House and for taxation. This was a middle-ground solution between free states that didn’t want enslaved people counted at all and slaveholding states that wanted them counted to boost their political power. Counting enslaved people as three-fifths gave the South more representatives than if they were ignored, but less than if they were counted as full persons. This arrangement shaped political power in the early United States and was later superseded by amendments aimed at equality.

The other clauses handle different powers: one regulates commerce, another broadens legislative authority through the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the last establishes federal supremacy in law. None of those address how populations are counted for representation.