Emory Pres. Says ‘Three-Fifths’ Slavery Compromise Was Example of Success

Faculty of Georgia University censures James W. Wagner over magazine column

Hey, James W. Wagner! Wake up! That’s the message the faculty at Emory University sent the college president, after censuring him on Wednesday over a magazine column in which he praised the 1787 “three-fifths compromise” over slavery. Wagner’s column in Emory Magazine cites the compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for determining state representation in Congress, as a good example of how our leaders on Capitol Hill reach agreements. In other words, it’s okay to consider people less than human, in the interest of reaching a compromise. Although Wagner has apologized for the “clumsiness and insensitivity” of the column (during Black History Month, mind you,) faculty members debated, but tabled a vote of no confidence in him. At least one professor was calling for his resignation. (New York Times)

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