[1] He attended the public schools and graduated from Middlebury College in 1807 with classmates Daniel Azro Ashley Buck and Stephen Royce.

[3] Slade engaged in editorial work; he established and was editor of the Columbian Patriot from 1814 to 1816 and maintained a book store and printing office.

[6] On December 20, 1837, Slade played a central role early in the House of Representatives's debate over slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia.

He nevertheless discussed the history of slavery and its inhumanity at length as groups of congressmen from Southern states tried to shout him down and then left in protest.

After leaving office, Slade was corresponding secretary of the Board of National Popular Education from 1846 to 1859, which he co-founded with Catharine Beecher.

[12] Also memorialized on the family burial monument is Eliza Dodson, an African-American girl whom Slade brought to Vermont from Washington.