Conrad E. Wright
Cover images: Top row: “The Approach of the Chiefs”, photogravure by Joseph K. Dixon, 1913. Second row: We-no-na, (First Born.) (Daughter of Sioux Chief, “Red Iron.”), carte de visite by Upton’s, circa 1862–1863. Third row (lefT To righT): John Quincy Adams diary 41, entry for 29 March 1841, page 292. Harriet Tubman, photograph, 1906. Passport of Eleanor “Nora” Saltonstall, 3 October 1917. fourTh row: A Map of the United States, [Philadelphia, 1795]. fifTh row: Cheyenne buffalo chase, by [Making Medicine (Cheyenne)], page 8 (insert), book of sketches made at Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida, 1877. BoTTom row: Unidentified Native Americans, hand-colored tintype, circa 1860–1870.
Now on display at the MHS
Boston Views
Through the Lens of Arthur A. Shurcliff
View a selection of images of cityscapes and buildings in Boston from the first decades of the 20th century.
Mon., and Wed. through Fri.: 10:00 am to 4:45 pm
Tues.: 10:00 am to 7:45 pm (open at 12:00 pm on second Tues. of the month)
Sat.: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
The last admission is 45 minutes prior to closing.
Conrad E. Wright Research Conference
July 11 to 13, 2024
CITIZENSHIP
The centennial of both the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and Immigration Act of 1924 offers an opportunity to explore the intersection of two subjects that have not always been considered alongside each other. However, as both scholars of Native American and U.S. immigration history grapple with the legacies of settler colonialism in their respective fields, the links between the aforementioned pieces of legislation come into clearer focus. Recent scholarship points out that the “peopling” of the United States not only occurred through the forces of international migration, but also reflects the incorporation of Indigenous peoples, forced or enslaved migrants from Africa and elsewhere, and the movement of borders that turned people into newcomers regardless of whether or not they actually moved. The degree to which those groups were included or excluded from citizenship, cultural “membership,” or even the right to remain in the nation has however varied widely. This conference will bring together scholars to explore the broad themes associated with citizenship and other variations of national belonging reflected in both the pieces of landmark legislation featured here.
The Conrad E. Wright Conference series was endowed by The Honorable Levin H. Campbell in honor of Conrad Edick Wright, former Director of Research and Sibley Editor.
We give special thanks to our Conference Steering Committee:
Danielle Battisti, University of Nebraska Omaha
Sunu Kodumthara, Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Benjamin Railton, Fitchburg State University
Brenden Rensink, Brigham Young University
Lila Teeters Knolle, Harvard University
Marcia Zug, University of South Carolina School of Law
The conference sessions and teacher workshop will take place in Boston at the Massachusetts Historical Society and Suffolk University. The panels and presentations are on July 11 and 12. The workshop is on July 13 (see pages 12-13). The schedule of academic panels is below.
THURSDAY,
JULY 11
Massachusetts Historical Society 1154 Boylston Street, Boston
3:00 – 4:30 pm
Registration / Reception
Location: MHS, Dowse Library
4:30 – 5:45 pm
Keynote Panel
Location: MHS, Red Room (and streaming via Zoom)
Presenters:
• Maurice Crandall, Arizona State University
• Samantha Seeley, University of Richmond
• Kunal M. Parker, University of Miami
Moderator: Sunu Kodumthara, Southwestern Oklahoma State University
FRIDAY, JULY 12
Suffolk University, Sargent Hall
120 Tremont Street, Boston
9:00 - 10:15 am
Panel 1
Location: Room 235
Presenters:
• Cheryl Hudson, University of Liverpool, “Modern Citizenship, the 1924 Immigration Act & the Sociology of Exclusion”
• James Pasto, Boston University, “Seeing Like a State and Being Like a Race: The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act & the 1924 Immigration Act”
• Rachel Rosenbloom, Northeastern University School of Law, “Race, Sovereignty & the Multiple Meanings of Birthright Citizenship in the 1920s”
Commenter: Lila Teeters Knolle, Harvard University
10:15 – 10:30 am
Break
Suffolk University
10:30 – 11:45 am
Panel 2
Location: Room 285
Presenters:
• Cody Nager, Stanford University, “The Slave Trade & the Naturalization Act of 1790”
• Karl Nycklemoe, Stony Brook University, “To Claim a River: The Upper Mississippi in the Early 19th Century”
• Edward Green, Penn State, “Native Americans & State Citizenship in the Deep South, 1830–1865”
• Alison Russell, University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Legible Citizenship: A Comparative Study of African American & Cherokee Constitution Writing in the Antebellum Period”
Commenter: Barbara Krauthamer, Emory University
Panel 3
Location: Room 235
Presenters:
• Abigail Smith, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, “From Syria to Spruce: The impact of the Syrian Diaspora on the formation of Appalachia”
• Olga Tsapina, The Huntington Library, “‘All The Reliable Loyal citizens Heare are the Slaves’: Citizenship in the Popular Imagination in the Civil War America”
Commenter: Benjamin Railton, Fitchburg State University
11:45 am – 1:30 pm
Lunch (see page 10 for a list of area restaurants)
1:30 – 2:45 pm
Panel 4
Location: Room 285
Presenters:
• Emily Yankowitz, Yale University, “Passports to Citizenship?”
• Kris Klein Hernández, Connecticut College, “Statuses & Sovereignties: Undocumented Peoples, State-Recognized Tribal Geographies & the U.S.’s Identification Policies”
• Sara Egge, Centre College, “Gendered Contradictions & the Women Who Made Citizens”
Commenter: Kunal Parker, University of Miami
Panel 5
Location: Room 235
Presenters:
• Justin Estreicher, College of William & Mary, “Mound Builder, Cliff Dweller, Indian: Imagining American Antiquity & Indigenous Membership in the Nation”
• Daniel Mandell, Truman State University, “U.S. Policies & Native Sovereignty in the Century Before Citizenship”
• Lydia Burleson, Stanford University, “On the Massachusetts Seal”
Commenter: Brenden Rensink, Brigham Young University
Restaurants Near Suffolk University
Fast Food
Burger King (V, VE)
128 Tremont St., Boston, MA 1-minute walk
Clover Food Lab (V, VE)
27 School St., Boston, MA 4-minute walk
The Corner Mall Food Experience (V, VE)
1-99 Music Hall Pl., Boston, MA 5-minute walk
Lambert’s Marketplace (V)
140 Tremont St., Boston, MA 2-minute walk
McDonald’s (V)
146 Tremont St., Boston, MA 3-minute walk
Dine In or Take Out
Bakey (V)
151 Tremont St., Boston, MA 4-minute walk
Black Seed Halal Grill (V, VE)
140 Tremont St., Boston, MA 1-minute walk
Sam LaGrassa’s (V, VE)
44 Province St., Boston, MA 3-minute walk
Dine In
Back Deck (V)
2 West St., Boston, MA
5-minute walk
Fajitas & ‘Ritas (V)
25 West St., Boston, MA 4-minute walk
French Quarter (V)
545 Washington St., Boston, MA 6-minute walk
JiangNan Boston (V, VE)
177 Tremont St., Boston, MA 6-minute walk
Wen’s noodle and Ramen (V)
145 Tremont St., Boston, MA 2-minute walk
V = vegetarian options; VE = vegan options
2:45 – 3:00 pm pm
Break 3:00 – 4:15 – pm pm
P Panel 6 anel 6
Location: Room 235
Presenters:
• Lexi Echelman, Independent Researcher, “‘A Destructive and Injurious Weapon in Nature’: The 1924 American Indian Citizenship Act & its Use in Undermining Iroquois-American Diplomacy”
• Emilie Connolly, Brandeis University, “Native Nations against State Taxation in the 19th Century”
• Brianna Nofil, College of William & Mary, “Indian Jail, Immigrant Jail: Contested Citizenship & the Foundations of the Carceral State”
Commenter: Marcia Zug, University of South Carolina School of Law
The MHS Podcast
Join our hosts as they chat with staff and outside scholars and interact with artifacts from the MHS collection to gain a richer understanding of the history behind them.
Listen now at www.masshist.org/podcast or wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
K-12 educators are invited to attend the conference and this day-long teacher workshop led by keynote scholar Dr. Samantha Seeley and MHS education staff. Participation in the workshop is limited to K-12 educators.
SATURDAY, JULY 13
Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston
Citizenship
& Belonging in U. S. History
9:00 - 9:35 am
Introduction and Definition of Acts and Terms
Dr. Samantha Seeley will set the stage for the day by providing a framework for and context to the workshop. She will define the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act and 1924 Immigration Act for educators, and define terms connected to the acts, including “citizenship” and “settler colonialism”. Dr. Lila Teeters Knolle will share a timeline for educators to put into context the events leading up to these two acts, as well as events that came afterwards.
9:35 - 10:45 am
Breakfast Roundtable: Connecting Scholars and K-12
Educators
Conference scholars and K-12 teacher participants will meet for an informal discussion that bridges themes that emerged during the conference with the content of this workshop. We will identify important takeaways from the conference, reflect on the accessibility of current scholarship for the K-12 classroom, and discuss best practices for introducing the major conference themes to students. Lila Teeters Knolle will facilitate the discussion. Scholars who attend the conference are welcome to attend the breakfast roundtable and may stay to observe later sessions.
10:35 - 11:45 am
Dr. Samantha Seeley Scholar Talk
Dr. Samantha Seeley will give a talk based on her book Race, Removal, and the Right to Remain: Migration and the Making of the United States, where she discusses both freedom of movement and the right to remain in the face of forced removal for both Indigenous nations and African Americans; Q & A.
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
Lunch (provided on site)
12:45 - 1:15 pm
Scholar Favorite Items
Scholars Samantha Seeley, Alison Russell, and Rachel Rosenbloom will each briefly share one primary source that informed their talk / panel presentation, and talk about the ways in which they pulled evidence from the source to support their main argument. Teachers will then have informal discussions with the scholars about ways in which they use primary sources in K-12 classrooms.
1:15 - 1:30 pm
Break
1:30 - 2:00 pm
Online Resources
We will explore History Source, the MHS Primary Source Set teacher resource portal and resources for teachers to use primary sources at all different age and ability levels.
2:00 - 3:30 pm
Peer-to-Peer Collaboration and Show-and-Tell
This time will be devoted to collaborative resource development as teachers work with peers to develop their own classroom instructional materials, using primary sources presented by scholars and MHS Education staff. In a separate room, teachers will be able to draw inspiration from items in the MHS collections that are related to the workshop themes in a show-and-tell.
3:30 - 4:30 pm
Final Discussion and Exit Ticket
Educators have the opportunity to earn either 45 PDPs or 2 graduate credits from Worcester State University (for an additional fee). Requirements for credit include attending 4+ conference sessions on July 11 and 12 and the workshop on July 13. Program coursework must be completed.
A Center for Learning and Engagement
Founded in 1791, the Massachusetts Historical Society is an invaluable resource for American history, life, and culture. With millions of pages of manuscript letters, diaries, and other documents, as well as early newspapers, broadsides, artifacts, artwork, photographs, maps, and prints, the MHS offers a wide-ranging perspective on the United States from the earliest beginnings of the nation to the present day.
The Society hosts a variety of scholarly activities aimed at a cross-section of academics and members of the public. These include seminars, conferences, and grad student receptions, as well as a robust fellowship program.
MHS Hours
Library
• Monday, and Wednesday through Friday, from 9:30 AM to 4:45 PM
• Tuesday from 9:30 AM to 7:45 PM (the library opens at 12:00 PM the second Tuesday of the month)
• Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Staff retrieves materials up to 45 minutes prior to closing. Reading room closes 15 minutes before the library. Scheduling an appointment is encouraged.
Exhibition Galleries
• Monday, and Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM
• Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM (galleries open at 12:00 PM the second Tuesday of the month)
• Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
The last admission for exhibition visitors will be 45 minutes prior to closing.
Seminars
The MHS organizes seven seminar series. Presenters share their works in progress with scholars and members of the public. The steering committees for each series arrange for local commenters to provide feedback on chapter-length pieces.
• African American History Seminar
• L. Dennis and Susan R. Shapiro Digital History Seminar
• Dina G. Malgeri Modern American Society and Culture Seminar
• Environmental History Seminar
• History of Women, Gender, & Sexuality Seminar
• New England Biography Series
• Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar
Research Fellowships
The MHS supports over 50 fellowships per year including
• long-term fellowships supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities for up to 12 months of residency at the MHS;
• the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium for research at 30 New England archives and research libraries;
• the Suzanne and Caleb Loring Fellowship on the Civil War, Its Origins, and Consequences for research at the MHS and the Boston Athenæum;
• short-term fellowships for research in a range of topics such as African American, religious, women’s, and military history among others.
Massachusetts Historical Review
The Massachusetts Historical Review (MHR) , our scholarly journal, offers pieces rich in narrative detail and thoughtful analysis. Each issue focuses on a specific theme linked to a particular event in Massachusetts history. Essays themselves need not be limited to Massachusetts or New England history as long as they connect to the theme of the volume.
Learn more at www.masshist.org or by scanning the QR codes below.