From NJ.com: Slavery and the Constitution topic of talk at Washington Crossing, Pa.
WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. — Acclaimed constitutional scholar Paul Finkelman will lecture at the David Library of the American Revolution on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
The lecture, “America’s Covenant With Death: Slavery and the Founding,” will examine how and why slavery was written into the original Constitution, and protected by it. The lecture will be held at the David Library, 1201 River Road, Washington Crossing. Reservations required.
A specialist in American legal history, race and the law, Paul Finkelman is the author of more than 100 scholarly articles and more than twenty books. He is an expert in areas such as the law of slavery, constitutional law, and legal issues surrounding baseball. He was a Fellow in Law and the Humanities at Harvard Law School and received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Chicago. He has published extensively and was the chief expert witness in the Alabama Ten Commandments monument case.
His scholarship on religious monuments in public space was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry (2005). He was also a key witness in the suit over who owned Barry Bonds’ 73rd home run ball. His work on legal history and constitutional law has been cited by numerous courts and in many appellate briefs.
Finkelman is the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy and Senior Fellow, Government Law Center at Albany Law School. He was previously Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa College of Law, and held chairs at the University of Akron Law School, Cleveland-Marshall Law School, and the University of Miami.
The lecture is the fifth in a series of five lectures on history of the Constitution being offered by the David Library this fall.
For reservations or additional information, call 215-493-6776, ext. 100, or e-mail rsvp@dlar.org.
