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The Three-Fifths Compromise is the key principle that addressed the issue of representation between slave and free states in the U.S. Constitution. This compromise was a solution to the contentious debate over how slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation purposes.

Under this compromise, for every five enslaved individuals, three would be counted as part of the population. This arrangement was significant for slave-holding states because it increased their representation in the House of Representatives compared to if they had no representation for enslaved people. It also reflected the deeply entrenched relationship between slavery and political power during that time.

The other options do not accurately represent how the Constitution dealt with the issue of representation. Equal representation for all states does not reflect the reality of the legislative structure that was established, where representation in the House was based on population, while each state had equal representation in the Senate. The claim that slave states were initially excluded from the union is incorrect, as several states that practiced slavery were among the original thirteen colonies and were part of the Union from the start. Finally, the popular vote on statehood does not pertain to the representation issue addressed in the Constitution regarding existing states with slaves.