Publisher’s Note: We are listening very closely here. Try as we might, we can’t find any good reasons to excise from the original 1777 Vermont Constitution language calling for the abolition of slavery. Curiously, we find ourselves in full agreement with both former Vermont governor Jim Douglas AND Montpelier lawyer and fierce critic of Vermont independence Paul Gillies. Hell hath frozen over. Read the full ATLANTIC story here by Parker Richards, published, June 1, 2019.