Abridged Version Of Constitution Read in House

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) said it was a disservice to history that “the three-fifths clause would not be mentioned” as the Constitution was read aloud in Congress for the first time.

Under the three-fifths compromise, slaves were to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of taxation and representation in the Congress

But Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said “we are not reading those sections that have been superseded by amendments. We are going to read the document as amended.”

Goodlatte also noted that Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the legendary civil rights organizer, would read the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery.

New House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) led off the reading with the preamble followed by new House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with the first sentence of Article I.