SLAP (Slavery, Law, and Power) is a project dedicated to bringing the many disparate sources that help to explain the long history of slavery and its connection to struggles over power in early America, particularly in the colonies that would become the United States. Going back to the early English Empire, this project traces the rise of the slave trade along with the parallel struggles between monarchical power and early democratic institutions and ideals. We are creating a curated set of documents that help researchers and students to understand the background to the fierce struggles over both slavery and power during the American Revolution, when questions of monarchical power, consent to government, and hereditary slavery were all fiercely debated. After America  separated from Britain, the United States was still deeply influenced by this long history, especially up to the Civil War. The colonial legacies of these debates continued to affect the course of politics, law, and justice in American society as a whole.

SLAP (Slavery, Law, and Power) is a project dedicated to bringing the many disperate sources that help to explain the long history of the slavery in the United States. Going back to the early English Empire, this project traces the rise of the slave trade along with the parallel rise of monarchial power in England. By doing this, we can understand some of the finer points of the American Revolution, where questions of monarchial power and the institution of slavery took center stage once again. Furthermore, after American broke from Britain, the United States was still deeply influenced by this long history, and up to the Civil War, the colonial legacies of these debates continued to affect the course of politics, law, and American society as a whole.