A Republic Born Broke

The United States nearly died in its cradle. The Articles of Confederation (America's first constitution) created a government so weak it couldn't collect taxes, raise an army, or settle disputes between states. By 1786, the country was broke and falling apart.

The Constitution's three-fifths clause counted each enslaved person as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation — inflating Southern political power for decades. The founders knew exactly what they were doing. Without this compromise, the Constitution would not have been ratified.

James Madison privately called slavery a moral stain, yet accepted the clause as the price of union.