The merchants, bankers, and upper class were generally the men who made the decisions and their votes were the ones who counted. If slaves were allowed to have a whole vote instead of three fifths of one, the merchants would lose a significant amount of their power and votes could easily go against them. Merchants lived in the lap of luxury, smoking the finest tobacco farmed by southern slaves and trading other raw goods provided by slaves. Without slavery as a factor, merchants would not be nearly as successful as they were. The votes of white women would also be very influential if they were allowed. Without anyone who was less educated than them voting, the merchants could make all the decisions go their way. Merchants could easily form
