JUNE 6–8, 2008 • SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY, MASSACHUSETTS

Hosted by Suffolk University, in cooperation with the Colonial Society of Massachusetts

INTRODUCTION

The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture was founded as the Institute of Early American History and Culture in 1943 by the College of William and Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to foster “study, research, and publications bearing on American history approximately to the year 1815.” Still jointly sponsored by the College and Colonial Williamsburg, the Institute was renamed in 1996, in recognition of a generous endowment pledged by Mr. and Mrs. Malvern H. Omohundro, Jr. The Institute publishes the William and Mary Quarterly, books in its field of interest, and a e-newsletter; organizes and supports a variety of conferences, seminars, and colloquia; and annually offers a two-year NEH postdoctoral fellowship and a one-year Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral research fellowship.

In June 1995 the Institute inaugurated a series of annual conferences specifically designed to serve as a forum for the rich variety of work under way in the early American field. Organized exclusively by calls for papers and panels and held in a different geographic region each year, these meetings are intended to bring together and facilitate exchanges among junior and senior scholars from several disciplines who share a common interest in the history and culture of early America.

The program committee for the 2008 conference is chaired by Robert J. Allison (Suffolk University) and Susan E. Klepp (Temple University). Members include Robert Bellinger (Suffolk University), Mary S. Bilder (Boston College Law School), Jill Lepore (Harvard University), Pauline Maier (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Martha J. McNamara (Wellesley College), John W. Tyler (Groton School), Ted Widmer (John Carter Brown Library), Lisa Wilson (Connecticut College), and Conrad Edick Wright (Massachusetts Historical Society).