PART IV - Identify Reasonable Statements A thesis statement is the point that you are trying to prove. It is an answer, based
on evidence, to an important question.

In this lesson you were provided background information and data connected to the Three-Fifths Compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The question this information addresses asks,

"Why was the 3/5th Compromise a significant event in the history of the United States?"

Below are three possible thesis statements that, based on information provided in this lesson, try to answer the question above. Check the thesis statement that is best supported by the information and, in the space below the statements, explain your choice.

1. The 3/5 Compromise was a significant event in American history because it illustrated what the people who wrote the Constitution thought about the Africans who were enslaved in the United States.

2. The 3/5 Compromise was a significant event in American history because it increased the political power of the slave owners in the Congress and, therefore, contributed to the continuation and expansion of slavery.

3. The 3/5 Compromise was a significant event in American history because it put off a confrontation between North and South over the existence of slavery in the United States.