Conference Program

 

Friday, 13 December


1:00–2:00 p.m.
Hans Herr House Museum, 1849 Hans Herr Drive, Willow Street, Pennsylvania

Opening Ceremonies and Tour of the Lancaster Longhouse

Presiding: Thomas R. Ryan, President, LancasterHistory.org

Participants:
Becky Gochnauer, Director, Hans Herr House Museum

Mary Ann Robins, President, Circle Legacy Center, an American Indian advocacy organization

2:30–4:30 p.m.: Images from the Public Sphere
Ryder Hall, LancasterHistory.org, 230 North President Avenue, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Welcome: Thomas R. Ryan, LancasterHistory.org

Presiding: Daniel K. Richter, McNeil Center for Early American Studies

Papers (extended versions pre-circulated to registered attendees):

“Embodied Politics: The ‘Paxton Uprising’ and the Gendering of Civic Culture in Colonial Pennsylvania”
John Smolenski, University of California, Davis

“‘Bang the Indians Stoutly’: The Paxton Boys and the Origin of American Identity in Philadelphia”
Angel-Luke O’Donnell, University of Liverpool

“Baskets & Brooms, Hatchets, Naked Quakers, and that Infamous ‘Looking Glass for Presbyterians’: Using Material Culture to Deconstruct the Literature (and Prints) of the Paxton Boys”
Judith Ridner, Mississippi State University

4:30–5:00 p.m.: Break 

5:00–6:00 p.m.: Roundtable Discussion
Ryder Hall, LancasterHistory.org

Presiding: Patrick Spero, Williams College

Panelists:
Jack Brubaker, Lancaster Newspapers
Daniel K. Richter, McNeil Center for Early American Studies
Peter Silver, Rutgers University

6:00–7:00 p.m.: Reception
Ware Commons, LancasterHistory.org

Saturday, 14 December


9:30–10:00 a.m.: Coffee and Pastries
Ware Commons, LancasterHistory.org, 230 North President Avenue, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

10:00 a.m.–noon: Religious Dimensions
Ryder Hall, LancasterHistory.org

Presiding:Laura Keenan Spero, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

Papers (extended versions pre‑circulated to registered attendees):

“Paxton and the Politics of Identity ”
Richard K. MacMaster, University of Florida

“‘Bosom Enemies’: Moravian Sources and the Paxton Rangers’ Threats ”
Scott Paul Gordon, Lehigh University

“The Paxton Riots as a Presbyterian Event”
John Fea, Messiah College

“Heroes and Horrors: The Bible, the Militia, and the Paxton Boys”
Barry Levy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Noon–2:00 p.m.: Lunch on your own
Central Market or downtown Lancaster restaurants

2:00–3:00 p.m.: Ghosted Ground: The Conestoga Massacre, The Paxton Boys, and the Rise of an American Theater
Ware Center of Millersville University, 42 N. Prince Street, Lancaster

Presenter: Leslie A. Stainton, author of Staging Ground: An American Theater and Its Ghosts

Co-Presenters:  Barry Kornhauser, Millersville University, and ensemble

3:00–4:00 p.m.
Closing Ceremonies and Dedication of Historical Marker

Presiding: Jack Brubaker, Lancaster Newspapers

Participants:
Rick Gray, Mayor of Lancaster
Mary Ann Robins, President, Circle Legacy Center