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"