FillyofDelphi
Banned
Few aspects of the US Constitutional negotiations carry as much modern controversy as how "other persons" (Read; Slaves) would be counted in term of allotting a state's representation in the House. The question as just what a slave should be in the eyes of the federal government: weather as property they should be treated just like any livestock, or if as human beings they qualified just as much as a resident, was eventually settled with the principal of treating the slave population of a state as 3/5ths of its total number so both regions of the nation would at least tolerate it. However, what if instead a more legally-definitive classification was selected: either declaring slaves "Full persons" who just happened to in bondage, or "non-persons" in a legal sense and so not being counted in the population. What impact would this have on future American politics and legal theory? Obviously, both sides are a double-edged sword: increasing the elected political influence of the South and North respectively but laying the groundwork for future political precidents in favor of the opposite part through the courts.