Editing Three-fifths Compromise (section)

===Debate===
{{expand section|date=February 2021}}
[[Gouverneur Morris]] from New York doubted that a [[direct tax]], whose burden on Southern states would be increased by the Three-fifths Compromise, could be effectively leveled on the vast United States. The primary ways of generating federal revenue, he said, would be [[excise tax]]es and [[import duties]], which would tax the North more than the South; therefore, the taxation provision was irrelevant, and the compromise would only increase the number of pro-slavery legislators.<ref name="slavepower"/>

Northern delegates argued only voters should be accounted for. Southern delegates countered, claiming slaves counted just as much as voters, despite Northerners questioning why slaves should be held by Southerners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three-fifths compromise {{!}} Definition, Date, History, Significance, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/three-fifths-compromise |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>{{fv|date=October 2022|reason=does not support assertions in para citing it.<!-- perhaps rewrite para based on questioning why slaves should be held by Southerners. cite that -->}}