
As many of you know, the 112th Congress opened with a reading of the Constitution. However, they lacked the courage (or perhaps the education) to understand how important the 3/5ths clause was to the ultimate abolition of slavery.
For those that do not know, the 3/5ths clause was part of the Constitution in which slaves were counted as 3/5ths of a person for the purposes of representation and taxes. It reads in the Constitution like this:
Article I, Section. 2
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.