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Constitutional Amendment Would Remove Caveats To Vermont's Slavery Ban

The Vermont Constitution may be amended to clarify its ban on slavery.
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The Vermont Constitution may be amended to clarify its ban on slavery.

It's often repeated that Vermont's was the first state constitution to outlaw slavery, but the language of the document may actually have some caveats. Sponsors of a constitutional amendment want to change the language to make the ban absolute. We're talking about the history and the proposal.

We're joined by Chittenden County Sen. Debbie Ingram, lead sponsor of the amendment.

Also by Mark Hughes, executive director of Justice For All, and Civil War historian Howard  Coffin.

Broadcast on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Bob Kinzel has been covering the Vermont Statehouse since 1981 — longer than any continuously serving member of the Legislature. With his wealth of institutional knowledge, he answers your questions on our series, "Ask Bob."
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