In this week’s Local History article on the Howl in Lowell website, I write about the Three-Fifths Compromise in the US Constitution, the section of that document that tacitly acknowledged the existence of slavery without ever mentioning that word. While standing firm in opposition to slavery in 1787 may have prevented the enactment of the Constitution, side-stepping the issue as the delegates did ensured the issue would have to be resolved in the future. It was, by the American Civil War.

On Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 2 p.m. at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center at 40 French Street in Lowell, I will discuss this and the many conflicts over slavery that occurred in the country from colonial times until the start of the Civil War with emphasis on how these conflicts manifested themselves in the rapidly growing city of Lowell. This talk will be part of the opening of the new exhibit, “Lowell Remembers: The Civil War 1861-1865” featuring the photography of Tony Sampas.