Oops, wrote too hastily--you're right, it is the 14th Amendment. Good
constitutional scholar keeps us on track, thanks. And you're right about the
3/5 proportion playing its greatest role in the electoral college in
maintaining the South's power in antebellum America.
Jim Hershman

paul finkelman wrote:

> actually, it is the 14th Amendment, not the 15th where this issue arises.
>
> Paul Finkelman
>
> James Hershman wrote:
>
> > Jon Kukla is right about the origins of the 3/5 number in the
> > Confederation period. The story is spelled out in detail in Don
> > Fehrenbacher's _The Slaveholding Republic_. Interesting echoes of the
> > 3/5 compromise persist in the 15th Amendment, in the provision allowing
> > for the reduction of a state's representation based upon the proportion
> > of its citizens denied the franchise. So you could deny the vote, but
> > you had to pay the full price. Some Northern Republicans threatened to
> > apply in the 1890s when the South began disenfranchising
> > African-Americans but never brought it to bear.
> >
> > Jim Hershman
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
> --
> Paul Finkelman
> Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law
> University of Tulsa College of Law
> 3120 East 4th Place
> Tulsa, OK  74104-3189
>
> phone 918-631-3706
> Fax   918-631-2194
> e-mail:   [log in to unmask]
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html