Indiana Lt. Governor faces backlash after comments on Three-Fifths Compromise

Indiana’s Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith is under fire from historians and other officials after making controversial remarks about the Three-Fifths Compromise.

That compromise was reached during the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and it determined that three of every five enslaved persons in the U.S. would be counted toward a state's Congressional representation.

Beckwith posted a video on social media defending the compromise, claiming it helped “eradicate slavery” and was “a great move by the North.”

“This was a great move by the North to make sure that slavery would be eradicated in our nation,” Beckwith said in the video. “It actually limited the number of pro-slave representatives in Congress by 40%” .

His comments came as Indiana lawmakers debated Senate Bill 289, known as the “Unlawful Discrimination Bill.” Some Senate Democrats criticized the bill as anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and likened it to the Three-Fifths Compromise — prompting Beckwith’s response online.

Among the strongest critics of Beckwith’s interpretation was Professor Jeff Isaac, a political science scholar at Indiana University Bloomington.

“To whitewash it by saying that it was intended to liberate enslaved people is just absolutely wrong. Very, very wrong,” Isaac told NBC 5 .

Isaac emphasized that the original compromise, enacted in 1787, was a concession between Northern and Southern states. Southern states wanted enslaved people to count fully toward their population totals — increasing their representation in Congress — while the North pushed back, with the three-fifths agreement being enshrined into the Constitution.

“The whole premise of this is that a slave… didn’t count as a full citizen,” Isaac explained. “It was also a profoundly immoral compromise” .

State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat representing Indiana’s 46th District, also condemned Beckwith’s remarks, calling them “revisionist history.”

“It’s disappointing to see all of the different ways that my people are trying to be disappeared here in the state of Indiana,” said Hunley.

Hunley added that the lieutenant governor's framing erases the lived experiences of Black Americans and oversimplifies the harsh realities of slavery.

“Just mentioning that the Three-Fifths Compromise was great, when in all reality it was a horrible choice that many felt pressured into making — no one would have called it great by any stretch of the imagination,” she said.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was asked about the comments this week.

"I definitely wouldn't have used that characterization, and I don't like it," he said, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

The controversy has sparked significant backlash from across Indiana’s political and faith communities. Senator Hunley noted that over 300 people have signed a Change.org petition urging Indiana’s governor to denounce Beckwith’s statements.

“This is not okay for anyone in a position of power to use their positional leadership to rewrite history,” Hunley said .

NBC 5 reached out to the lieutenant governor’s office for additional comment. His office responded, “We don’t have anything to add at this time.”