Question

How did the missouri compromise deal with the issue of slavery?

Answer 1

was that in regard to considering a slave 3/5 of a person in the new territories, or was that a 3/5th compromise?

Answer 2

@hamzakabir - The Missouri Compromise preserved the balance between northern 'free' states and southern slave states. As the name implies, the conflict was over the admission of Missouri as a slave state...at the time, the ratio of free to slave states was 1:1. Admission of Missouri would have upset the balance, so the Northerners were given Maine as an additional free state. This is important in terms of legislation, especially so in the Senate, where each state gets two votes. But the key thing is that it simply preserved the system...slavery was not challenged directly, but tensions over it eventually would reach a boiling point.

@maxine4seen - I think you may be referring to the 3/5ths compromise in the Constitution which allowed slaves to count (partially) towards represnetation for Southern states in the House of Representatives. The debate over this occurred a few decades before the Missouri Compromise.