The U.S. Capitol Historical Society presents: CONGRESS AND THE CRISIS OF THE 1850s
Friday, April 25, 2008 9:00 am to 4:45 pm
Fifth annual conference in the series The National Capital in a Nation Divided: Congress and District of Columbia Confront Sectionalism and Slavery.
Conference Director and Keynote Speaker: Paul Finkelman, President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy, Albany Law School
Speakers include: Spencer R. Crew, George Mason University Matthew Glassman, Library of Congress Amy S. Greenberg, Penn State University Martin J. Hershock, University of Michigan-Dearborn Brooks D. Simpson, Arizona State University Jenny B. Wahl, Carleton College
Room 902, Hart Senate Office Building 2nd Street NE between Constitution Avenue and C Street Take Metro to Union Station or Capitol South
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Donations gladly accepted. (Mail a check made out to USCHS or call (202) 543-8919 to donate by credit card.) Pre-registration recommended. To pre-register, email uschs@uschs.org, or call (202) 543-8919 x. 38.
CONGRESS AND THE CRISIS OF THE 1850S Schedule of Events
9:00-9:15
Welcoming Remarks
9:15-10:00
Spencer R. Crew, “The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850: Congress and the Irresolvable Issue of Slavery”
10:00-10:45
Amy S. Greenberg, "Manifest Destiny's Hangover: Congress Confronts Territorial Expansion and Martial Masculinity in the 1850s
10:45-11:00
Break
11:00-11:45
Brooks D. Simpson, “‘Hit Him Again’”: The Caning of Charles Sumner”
11:45-1:30
Lunch, on your own (map of local eateries provided)
1:30-2:15
Matthew Glassman, “Beyond the Balance Rule: Congress, Statehood, and Slavery, 1850-1859”
2:15-3:00
Martin Hershock, “Agitation is as Necessary as Tranquility is Dangerous:” Kinsley S. Bingham Becomes a Republican
3:00-3:15
Break
3:15-4:00
Jenny Wahl, “The Panic of 1857: The Subprime Mortgage Crisis of Its Day?”
4:00-4:45
Keynote address: Paul Finkelman, "A Decade in Crisis: The 1850s"