Week 7, Part 2: Call Things By Their True Names
Debate continues on whether and how to account for enslaved people in determining representation in the legislature. The North-South divide widens. The delegates tie representation to taxation and approve the three-fifths ratio for both. The delegates try to semantically conceal their compromise, but fool no one. The Northwest Ordinance is passed in Congress, with suspicious timing. The Patterson team weighs in on the legacy of the three-fifths clause and the delegates’ failure to reckon with the immorality of slavery.