Can you help me answer my U.S. History essay question?

Try here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution

That issue is important for several reasons. 1. If they (slaves) are not "counted" and not included, then it devalues them as human beings and makes it easier to justify treating them in the manner they were treated as objects and as less than human. By devaluing their lives and their existance, it is easier for a person, or a group or class of people, to justify treating them in the many cruel and inhumane ways they were treated. 2. The way representatives are chosen for the legislature was by population per state. One way to reduce the number of representatives (and therefore the number of "voices" and votes in the legislature is to reduce the population of the given state. If there were less people counted then there would be less representatives compared to that of other states. 3. Also, because not all states had slaves, not counting slaves may have been one justification for having an "equal" population count among the states. This way, the states with slaves and the states without slaves could consider themselves on equal footing... Hope this helps you get started. These were just a few ideas off the top of my head that made sense. Good luck

That issue is important for several reasons. 1. If they (slaves) are not "counted" and not included, then it devalues them as human beings and makes it easier to justify treating them in the manner they were treated as objects and as less than human. By devaluing their lives and their existance, it is easier for a person, or a group or class of people, to justify treating them in the many cruel and inhumane ways they were treated. 2. The way representatives are chosen for the legislature was by population per state. One way to reduce the number of representatives (and therefore the number of "voices" and votes in the legislature is to reduce the population of the given state. If there were less people counted then there would be less representatives compared to that of other states. 3. Also, because not all states had slaves, not counting slaves may have been one justification for having an "equal" population count among the states. This way, the states with slaves and the states without slaves could consider themselves on equal footing... Hope this helps you get started. These were just a few ideas off the top of my head that made sense. Good luck