Vermont is often thought as one of the first state's to abolish slavery. The state's constitution, drafted in 1777, outlawed slavery, but it existed in the state's early years. There's an effort in the Vermont legislature this session to eliminate all references to slavery in the constitution.
To understand the current debate, it's helpful to know the history.
Vermont Edition: Constitutional Amendment Would Remove Caveats To Vermont's Slavery Ban
University of Vermont history professor Harvey Amani Whitfield compiled primary source documents illuminating the state's slavery history in his 2014 book, The Problem of Slavery in Early Vermont, 1777-1810. Whitfield said when the state's founders decided to end slavery in Vermont, they didn't really have a model to do it.
"They didn't really put in enough enforcement mechanisms, to actually make it work," Whitfield said. "Slavery certainly existed here."
Whitfield said understanding Vermont's history of slavery, along with its anti-slavery and abolitionist efforts, is important.
"It helps people in Vermont to understand how great our history is, not by having simple answers for things, but by understanding there's a lot of nuance in our state, there's a lot of complexity," Whitfield said.
UVM professor Harvey Amani Whitfield spoke to VPR's Henry Epp. Listen to their full conversation above.
