Download or read book A Defence of the Legislature of Massachusetts written by Massachusetts. General Court and published by . This book was released on 1804 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relates to two measures adopted by the General Court: a proposition to amend the Constitution of the U.S. by apportioning representatives among the states according to the number of free inhabitants, and to provide for the choice of electors of president and vice president by a general ticket. Specifically discusses the role of the Three-fifths compromise (Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3) in apportioning representatives and the outsize power it provides to the Southern States. Also discusses enslavement in the Southern States and the potential increase in the trading of enslaved people through the coast of Louisiana following the Lousiana Purchase.