Smith, James M'Cune. 'Citizenship' in 'The Anglo-African Magazine 1:5 (May 1859)' . New York, N.Y. : T. Hamilton, 1859. [format: newspaper], [genre: article; history]. Permission: Northern Illinois University
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=angloafrican1.html

Note from page 148: 9. They (the framers of the Constitution) had not then thought that taxation on all the imported goods was to be regarded as a blessing. On the contrary they expected that the expenses of government would be defrayed by direct taxation. Then it became an important question, How shall taxation be appointed among the people? ‘Why,’ said men of the North, ‘according to population; and let every body white and black be enumerated.’ ‘No,’ replied the South, ‘for here are our Southern slaves who do not produce as much as your laborers. We ought not to be taxed according to population.’ And not only was there a compromise made on this subject, but they were ready to have their representation diminished by two fifths of their slaves, which, was not much thought of at the time, inasmuch as they obtained as a recompense what was esteemed by them as a great boon, namely, the taxation also in proportion to their numbers, omitting two fifths of their slaves. (Memoirs, speeches, and writings of Robert Rantoul, Jr., p. 738.)