남부 주 대표들은 노예가 말과 양과 같은 재산이므로 주민으로 간주되어서는 안된다고 주장했다. 프랭클린은이 주장을 초초 농담으로 반박했다.
(The delegates from the southern states insisted that slaves were property, like horses and sheep, and therefore should not be counted as Inhabitants. Franklin countered this claim with an edgy joke, observing that slaves, the last time he looked, did not behave like sheep: Sheep will never make any insurrections.)