Slavery and the Founders ― Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson

In this new edition of his classic work, Slavery and the Founders, Paul Finkelman addresses a central issue of the American founding: how the first generation of leaders of the United States dealt with the profoundly important question of human bondage. This book explores the tension between the professed idea of America as stated in the Declaration of Independence, and the reality of the early American republic, reminding us of the profound and disturbing ways that slavery affected the American Constitution and early American politics. This Third Edition includes a new chapter on the regulation of the African slave trade and the latest research on Thomas Jefferson. Slavery and the Founders remains the most important and detailed short critique of Jefferson's relationship to slavery available, while at the same time contrasting his relationship to slavery with that of other founders.

Paul Finkelman is a distinguished historian and legal scholar specializing in American legal history, constitutional law, and race and the law. He is the author of more than 200 scholarly articles and more than 40 books.