mr. william trent and all the other people who have lived here in taking care of the property. we've started from colonial times, revolutionary war times, to the present time. and this history is very important. things we cannot forget, such as slavery and the expansion of colonialism really brought about changes to this area and what we see today. traveledaff recently to trenton, new jersey, to learn about its rich history. learn more about trenton and other stops at c-span.org. americanatching history tv, all weekend, every weekend, on cspan3. >> in the spring of 1790, the first u.s. congress meeting in their second session engaged in a debate about slavery and race while considering a number of anti-slavery petitions they had received. up next, the history professor talks about the first congressional debate on slavery and race and argues this discussion which focused on congress's ability to interfere

the william and mary period was influenced through dutch, flemish and different influences. mr. trent was a wealthy merchant and he did entertain a lot of important clients for both his business throughout the court, as well as general entertaining and dining. he was well-to-do in the community and he would've wanted to show that off. any and everybody who would've been have the same class would have really spent some time here. and they would have engaged in dining like this. downstairs here would have been a public place, open to any type of public. wanted touylld have show up. and there would have been brass handles on the doors. he has an item called the -- if you take a look down on the floor boards there is pretty much everything is of the same size, except for this board here. the board underneath it. this is something called the kings board. this was a highly taxed item and pretty much used for the king exclusively. shipping, army projects, anything he would have used. trent lately mr. has it on his front parlor floor is saying he does not care that -- it's the equivalent of h

william and mary furniture. these chairs have crowns on them. these are unfortunately not mr. trent's personal items, but they are antiques of the time period. these crowns would have been hacked off. they are a fantastic find good if you look up and down the chairs come easy intricate scrollwork. -- you see intricate scrollwork. mr. trent was a wealthy merchant and he entertained a lot of important clients for his business and general entertainment and dining. any and everybody who would have been of his same status and class would have really spent some time here and they would have engaged in dining like this. downstairs would have been a public place open to any type of public. the doorways would have been larger and there would have been press handles on the doors down here. -- brass handles. he is an item here called the kingsport. -- kings board. everything is of the same size except for this board right here. and the board underneath it. this is a highly taxed item and is used for the king exclusively. the fact that mr. trent blatantly has it on his front parlor floor is basic