Summary
The third chapter of "Founding Brothers", The Silence, discusses a huge issue that threatened to destroy America; the result of petitions given to the U.S. House of Representatives which were from a few Quakers who wanted the African slave trade closed. This occured a few months after Jefferson's dinner (see The Dinner). Those in favor of slavery lived mainly in the South, especially in Georgia and South Carolina. They're argument was that Congress should ignore the petitions, since the Constitution stated that the government was not allowed to do anything about the slave trade until 1808 (although emancipation had already begun in the North). The South even threatened to succeed if it was not discussed by Congress. Many believed this to be a bluff, but no one called them out for it. Just as the title of the chapter hints at, Congress remained silent on the topic of slavery-- to keep the United States whole. For a short period of time, this approach did keep the beloved country together-- but eventually the topic would once again be brought up: and though for generations the government had been firmly quiet about slavery, but it was just a matter of time until someone broke the silence....