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History of the United States I / Unit 11   USH1 1517 short lesson, about 20 seconds

The Three-Fifths Clause and the House

Captions available

The idea

The three-fifths clause counted a state's entire free population and sixty percent of its enslaved population in setting its House membership and its federal tax bill.

In practice

A formula affecting representation in one chamber only.

Where people slip

Unit 07 covers where the formula came from. What matters here is which chamber it governs.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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