The Studied Silence – Maj. Gen. James Williams

Becoming America: The Constitutional Convention of 1787

Why did our Founding Fathers ignore the issue of slavery when crafting the Constitution? To understand this better, we need to put everything in context with the times. The incipient federation was at risk of many Southern states not joining if slavery was outlawed, and many of the delegates themselves were slave owners. But to their credit, they did make the institution much less brutal. To help us gain a better understanding of this prominent and often controversial sticking point of American history, Judge Jim Gray, Professor Jo Ellen Chatham, and “The American”, Bijan Kian are joined by Major General James Williams of the US Marine Corps. Join in and learn why the word “slavery” wasn’t included in the Constitution and how that decision embodied our nation builders’ principles of personal liberty.