# Did anyone advocate for a new Constitution, c. 1865 (in the US, if I wasn't clear)?

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**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 9, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-advocate-for-a-new-constitution-c-1865-in-the-us-if-i-wasnt-clear/1005510 "2024-08-09T23:32:58Z")\
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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-advocate-for-a-new-constitution-c-1865-in-the-us-if-i-wasnt-clear/1005510/9 "2024-08-10T20:03:48Z")

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By 1860 only the balance in Senate counted. Northern population growth had overwhelmed the South; there was a 70/30 split in 1860, out of a population of 31 million. The South had around 4 million slaves, so they would have gained 1,500,000 extra in the Census, or about 5% of the total population, hardly enough to change the balance in the House. The 1870 census showed a population of about 38 million, making the free black population an even smaller proportion of the growing country.

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