The <span>Three-Fifths Compromise</span> was a <span>compromise reached</span> between<span> delegates from </span>southern states<span> and those from </span>northern states<span> during the 1787 United States </span>Constitutional Convention<span>. The debate was over whether, and if so, how, </span>slaves<span> would be </span>counted<span> when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxing </span>purposes<span>. </span>The<span> issue was important, as this </span>population number<span> would then be used to determine the </span>number of seats<span> that the state would have in the </span>United States House of Representatives<span> for the next ten </span>years<span>.</span>
