[prodigal_erik]

Slavery was appalling, but nobody was advocating 3/5 as an actual statement about their metaphysical humanity. It was a purely political compromise on the total influence and taxation of the south vs. the north, because they couldn't agree on x + 1/2 y or x + 3/4 y. The proper number for congressional representation should have been zero, not because slaves weren't people but because they weren't permitted to vote.