Final answer:
The Three-Fifths Compromise increased the Southern states' D. representation in Congress, giving them more political power.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Three-Fifths Compromise had a significant effect on political power in the South. It was a compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 which stated that three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation and taxation purposes. This arrangement gave Southern states more representation in Congress without granting slaves any rights, increasing the influence of slaveholding states in the federal government. As a result, it effectively allowed the Southern states to accumulate more power in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College, often leading to the introduction and passing of legislation favorable to the interests of slaveholders. The correct answer to the student's question is D. It gave those states more representation in Congress.
The Three-Fifths Compromise in the United States Constitution, adopted in 1787, affected political power in the South by giving those states more representation in Congress. According to the compromise, enslaved individuals were counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of determining a state's population, which in turn determined the number of representatives they would have in Congress. This compromise allowed Southern states with large slave populations to have more representation and therefore more political power in the federal government.