,
though others did not think so, and eventually the restriction upon
amendment by the upper house was dropped.

There has long been a prevailing belief that an essential feature of the
great compromise was the counting of only three-fifths of the slaves in
enumerating the population. This impression is quite erroneous. It was
one of the details of the compromise, but it had been a feature of the
revenue amendment of 1783, and it was generally accepted as a happy
solution of the difficulty that slaves possessed the attributes both
of persons and of property. It had been included both in the amended
Virginia Plan and in the New Jersey Plan; and when it was embodied in
the compromise it was described as "the ratio recommended by Congress in
their resolutions of April 18, 1783." A few months later, in explaining
the matter to the Massachusetts convention, Rufus King said that, "This
rule... was adopted because it was the language of all America." In
reality the three-fifths rule was a mere incident in that part of
the great compromise which declared that "representation should be
proportioned according to direct taxation." As a further indication of
the attitude of the Convention upon this point, an amendment to have the
blacks counted equally with the whites was voted down by eight States
against two.

With the adoption of the great compromise a marked difference was
noticeable in the attitude of the delegates. Those from the large States
were deeply disappointed at the result and they asked for an adjournment
to give them time to consider what they should do. The next morning,
before the Convention met, they held a meeting to determine upon
their course of action. They were apparently afraid of taking the
responsibility for breaking up the Convention, so they finally decided
to let the proceedings go on and to see what might be the ultimate
outcome. Rumors of these dissensions had reached the ears of the public,
and it may have been to quiet any misgivings that the following inspired
item appeared in several local papers: "So great is the unanimity, we
hear, that prevails in the Convention, upon all great federal subjects,
that it has been proposed to call the room in which they assemble
Unanimity Hall."

On the other hand the effect of this great compromise upon the delegates
from the small States was distinctly favorable. Having obtained equal
representation in one branch of the legislature, they now proceeded with