The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast Constitution 101: Slavery and the Roots of the Secession Crisis
Feb 18, 2026
Kevin Porteous, professor of politics and director of American Studies at Hillsdale College, gives a concise lecture on slavery and the secession crisis. He asks how slavery persisted in a republic of rights. He traces early abolition efforts, constitutional compromises that sidestepped slavery, and the rise of a pro-slavery ideology that ultimately pushed the South toward secession.
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Founders Viewed Slavery As An Injustice
- The founders largely regarded slavery as a grave injustice rooted in positive law rather than natural right.
- Kevin Porteous cites Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson calling slaves men and condemning slavery's moral and societal harms.
Founders Enacted Laws To Hem In Slavery
- The founders took concrete steps to restrain and limit slavery even if they did not abolish it immediately.
- Examples include nine northern states abolishing slavery, eased manumission, the 1808 slave trade ban, and the Northwest Ordinance.
Constitution Avoided Naming Slavery Directly
- The Constitution deliberately avoids the word slave and uses ambiguous compromises to prevent normalizing slavery.
- Porteous notes Madison, Douglass, and Lincoln saw this as intentional to avoid 'tainting' the document.