What happend before the three-fifths compromise?

Before the Three-Fifths Compromise, the United States was grappling with how to balance representation and taxation between free and enslaved populations. The Articles of Confederation had proven inadequate, leading to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where delegates debated the structure of government. Southern states wanted enslaved individuals counted fully for representation, while Northern states opposed this, leading to significant tensions. The compromise ultimately established that enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person for both representation and taxation purposes.