The Crooked Path to Abolition

James Oakes’s deeply researched book argues that two very different readings of the 1787 charter put the United States on a course of all but inevitable conflict.

In his new book, "The Crooked Path to Abolition," James Oakes argues that the Constitution was an antislavery document.

During the 1860 presidential election, political parties dueled over the intent of the framers.

Although he did not openly endorse every one of the many precepts of the antislavery Constitution, Lincoln framed his positions entirely within its parameters.