The motivation behind the "three-fifths" compromise is frequently misunderstood. Counting slaves as something "less than a full person" was actually a win for t

The motivation behind the "three-fifths" compromise is frequently misunderstood. Counting slaves as something "less than a full person" was actually a win for the abolitionists. Anti-slavery delegates were pushing for slaves to not be counted at all, while politicians from slaveholding states wanted them to count as a full citizen — thus amplifying the voting power of white southerners.