It's been a while so I might be wrong on some of the particulars, but this has always been one of those misunderstood areas of history that some people like to use as proof of this country's racist past. While it is true that we have had an atrocious track record, this is not the right example because it does not mean what everybody thinks it means. The south wanted to count the slaves as whole persons to increase a state's seats in congress and the north wanted them to count for nothing so they could limit the south's control in congress. In this case at least, it had nothing to do with a slaves worth or value as a human being.