Since its inception, the Constitution has been criticized for not doing enough to protect basic freedoms. Even with the addition of the Bill of Rights, slavery persisted. Abolitionists were divided on whether the highest law in the land could ever be redeemed. After William Lloyd Garrison publicly burned the Constitution at a rally in Framingham, Massachusetts, Frederick Douglass rebutted that political strategy. Why surrender these timeless words to the desires of wicked men?

Once again we are divided on the merits of the Constitution: can it redeem us or is it a convenient cloak for white supremacy? This presentation considers both arguments and then offers a third-way to consider the Constitution. Neither a divine document nor a tool of elites, the Constitution might also be seen as an invitation to develop the habits of good clash.

This event is sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council