The founders of our nation knew that slavery was wrong, yet they were unable to solve a problem that contradicted the American creed of liberty and equality. We will continue our exploration of the “peculiar institution” from colonial days to the outbreak of the American Civil War. In Part 1, we covered the period from the introduction of slavery in America and the struggles of the founders to deal with the issue to the early years of the Republic. Part 2 will include a discussion of the rise of abolition and the impact that westward expansion had on the politics of the era, which culminated in the Civil War.