In 1787, while the constitution was being drafted, there was a controversy over how population within each state should be counted. As slaves were considered property and not as people to be counted, the states stood to lose a number of Representatives in the House. A “compromise” was struck to count each slave as three-fifths of a white person in order to increase the number of Representatives in each state (particularly southern states). This horrible law was finally rendered obsolete in 1865 with the passing of the 13th amendment.