Question

the founders finally agreed that each state would have two senators and that a states number of seats in the house of representatives would be based on that states population. but then came the question of how to count a states population. women would count toward population, the founders decided, even though women couldnt vote. the next question the founders tackled: should they count enslaved people?
the southern states wanted enslaved people to count toward their populations. they enslaved more people, so counting them toward population would mean that they could send more representatives to the house. the more populated states in the north didnt want enslaved people to count toward the population of the southern states. they didnt enslave as many people and didnt want to lose the advantage of having larger populations. ultimately the delegates agreed on a seemingly random fraction: in determining a states population, each enslaved person would count as three fifths of a person. this is known as the three - fifths compromise.
what is the main idea of the second paragraph?
a constitutional delegates insisted on including women in population counts.
b constitutional delegates compromised to count enslaved people as three - fifths of a person when determining state population.
c constitutional delegates agreed to a fixed number of representatives in the senate.
d northern states opposed including slaves in state population counts.

Explanation:

The second paragraph details the debate over counting enslaved people for population (to determine House seats). Southern states wanted them counted fully (to get more reps), Northern states opposed (as they had fewer enslaved). The compromise was counting each enslaved person as three - fifths of a person (Three - Fifths Compromise).

• Option A: Women's counting is in the first paragraph, not the main idea of the second.
• Option B: Correctly summarizes the compromise on counting enslaved people as three - fifths.
• Option C: Fixed number of senators (two per state) is from the first paragraph, not the second.
• Option D: While Northern states' opposition is part of the debate, it's not the full main idea (the compromise is key).

Answer:

B. Constitutional delegates compromised to count enslaved people as three - fifths of a person when determining state population.