JUNE 11–13, 2004 • SMITH COLLEGE, MASSACHUSETTS

INTRODUCTION

Hosted by Smith College and Historic Deerfield, Inc.

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 OI was renamed in 1996 in recognition of a generous endowment pledged by Mr. and Mrs. Malvern H. Omohundro, Jr. The OI 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 awards a two-year NEH postdoctoral fellowship, a one-year Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral research fellowship, and, in cooperation with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, short-term fellowships for research in the Foundation’s collections by predoctoral, postdoctoral, and independent scholars.

In June 1995 the OI inaugurated a series of annual conferences specifically designed to serve as a forum for the rich variety of work underway 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 2004 conference is chaired by Cornelia H. Dayton (University of Connecticut), Neal Salisbury (Smith College), and Kevin Sweeney (Amherst College) and includes Richard D. Brown (University of Connecticut), Leslie Choquette (Assumption College), Philip Gould (Brown University), Dana Leibsohn (Smith College), Barry Levy (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Marla Miller (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Lynda Morgan (Mount Holyoke College), Jessica Neuwirth (Historic Deerfield, Inc.), and Martha Saxton (Amherst College).

The meeting will take place on the Smith College campus and at various sites in the historic village of Deerfield. The OI and the conference organizers are grateful to Smith College and Historic Deerfield, Inc., for their sponsorship and to the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and Five Colleges, Inc., for their support.