Answer:
The compromise counted three out of every five slaves as people, giving the Southern states a third more seats in Congress and a third more electoral votes than if slaves had been ignored, but fewer than if slaves and free people had been counted equally. The three-fifths clause is perhaps the most misunderstood provision of the U.S. Constitution. The clause provides that representation in Congress will be based on "the whole Number of free Persons" and "three fifths of all other Persons." The "other Persons" were slaves.