南部各州的代表坚持认为奴隶是财产，例如马和绵羊，因此不应被视为居民。富兰克林用一个前卫的笑话来反驳这一说法，观察到他上次看时的奴隶并不像绵羊那样：绵羊永远不会发生任何叛乱。
(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.)