Federal Ratio

The Federal Ratio" the 3/5ths rule of slaves had more of an affect than most people think. 

Recently I read a book on the writing of the Constitution in 1787. The south would not have signed the Constitution unless they were allowed to continue to own and bring in additional slaves. A white man in South who owned 5 slaves had in affect his vote plus 3 while a white man in New York had 1 vote. This edge came from the number of representatives allowed per state. 

The affect: during the 62 years between Washington's election and the Compromise of 1850, slaveholders controlled the presidency for 50 years, the Speaker's chair for 41 years, the Chairmanship of the Ways and Means committee for 42 years. The only men to be reelected president Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson were all slaveholders. The men who sat in the Speaker's chair the longest, Henry Clay, Andrew Stevenson,k and Nathaniel Macon, were slave holders. 18 out of the 30 Supreme Court justices were slaveholders. Seven justices delivered the majority opinion in the Dred Scott decision and a majority were slaveholders. Gives more reason for the North to want to be rid of slaves.  And gives additional reason for the South to have wanted to keep their slaves and the Federal Ration.