This was posted to the Slavery list a while back and seems to fit here as an appropriate cross-post. Take care, Bob Judy and Bob Huddleston 10643 Sperry Street Northglenn, CO 80234-3612 303.451.6376 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: The history of slavery, the slave trade, abolition and emancipation [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steven Mintz Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 8:55 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Slavery and legislative apportionment From: "Douglas Deal" <[log in to unmask]> Re: "none of the states counted slaves for state representation in 1787; does anyone know when the changes started?" There must be some recent studies of this somewhere. I've consulted the older studies by Fletcher Green and Charles Sydnor, as well as a couple of volumes of Thorpe's State Constitutions and can offer the following summary re Maryland and North Carolina: Maryland 1776 - Each county allocated the same number of reps in lower house 1837 - Amendment created a graduated scale of rep based on "federal population" 1851 - Amendment created new graduated scale of rep based on [total] "population" Note: The "graduated scale" referred to was in each case a scheme that allocated the smallest number of reps to the counties whose federal population (or total) fell somewhere in the bottom range of the state spectrum; one more rep to those in the next range; one more than than that to those in the next range; and one more to those in the top range (# of reps per county in post-1837 legislature was 3, 4, 5, or 6) North Carolina 1776 - Each county allocated same number of reps in lower house 1835 - Amendment changed basis of representation to "federal population" In both cases, the states began with representation schemes that were not based on population per se but clearly favored older "eastern" counties over newer "western" ones that were growing faster but had fewer slaves. This resulted in dominance of state government by wealthy elites and established interests till the "reform" era of the 1820s-30s, when constitutions were amended nearly everywhere to accommodate the calls for "democratization." In the case of apportionment, the reformers wanted representation based on white population alone (the only true "republican" arrangement, they argued), while the old elites feared this would undercut their control (and maybe undercut slavery itself), so they managed to push through compromises that were based on that old 1787 compromise, the "federal ratio." The important point here is that this first explicit "counting of slaves" for the purposes of representation in these state legislatures was actually a *reform* that relaxed somewhat the control that slaveholding minorities had hitherto exercised over state politics. The earlier schemes that did not mention slaves or population at all were in fact more unequal and biased in favor of slaveholding interests in these states. Obviously, the progression from one scheme to another looked different in southern states that were formed later than these old southeastern states. I hope experts in state political and constitutional history will offer corrections or additional details where needed. Doug Deal History/SUNY-Oswego To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html