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How slavery was embedded in the Constitution without ever being named. The hosts examine the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the twenty-year protection of the slave trade — and how these provisions shaped American politics until the Civil War.
Canon
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True self vs. false self — America's founding documents expressed ideals the nation did not practice
The Declaration proclaimed 'all men are created equal' while the Constitution protected slavery. America's founding created a permanent gap between its stated values (true self) and its actual practices (false self).Highlights
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The Constitution protected slavery through euphemism — the word 'slave' never appears
The framers referred to enslaved people as 'other Persons' and 'Person held to Service.' The euphemisms allowed Northern delegates to support a pro-slavery document while maintaining the fiction of universal liberty.