Paul Finkelman

Constitutional historian Paul Finkelman, the president of Gratz College and a prolific author on law and slavery, unpacks the troubling ways the U.S. Constitution enabled slavery. He explores the paradox of founding ideals versus the realities of slaveholding, revealing how compromises like the Three-Fifths Clause shaped early American politics. Finkelman also discusses the influence of black soldiers in the Revolution on emancipation efforts and highlights how federal power often reinforced pro-slavery authority.