“The Power of Maps and the Politics of Borders” Conference Program 

October 10-12, 2019

All events will be held in Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

Thursday, October 10

5:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.: Conference Registration Opens

5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.: Reception and Keynote featuring Dr. Billy G. Smith, Professor of History and Distinguished Professor of Arts and Science at Montana State University

“Ona Judge Staines and Martha Washington: Mapping Inequality, Resistance, and Solutions in Early National Philadelphia” (Click Here To Watch)

Dinner on one’s own

Friday, October 11

8:30 a.m.–9:15 a.m.: Conference Registration, Light Breakfast, and Coffee

9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m.: Welcome Remarks

9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.:  Panel 1: The Materiality of Maps (Click Here To Watch)

“Making Mapping a Nation: The Challenges and Opportunities of Exhibiting Early American Maps"
Erin Holmes, University of Missouri 

“'Suitable for the Parlor of an American': The Legacy of Major Sebastian Bauman's Map of the Siege of Yorktown"
Kate McKinney, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 

“Archival Lines, Atlantic Diplomacy, and Negotiating the Northeast Boundary” 
Derek O'Leary, University of California, Berkeley

Comment: Martin Brückner, University of Delaware

10:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.: Coffee Break

11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.:  Panel 2: Mapping Economies (Click Here To Watch)

“Things to Think With: The Use of Borders on Early Modern Maps of the British Atlantic"
Christian Koot, Towson University  

“Mapping New Empires and Old: Albert Gallatin and the Cartographic Infrastructure of the Early Republic"
George Gallwey, Harvard University  

“'I Love to Stand Before a Map of the World': The Monthly Concert and Missionary Geography"
Emily Conroy-Krutz, Michigan State University 

Comment: Nicholas Gliserman, Chief Academic Officer, Game Learning 

12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m.: Lunch

1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.:  Panel 3: Cartographic Technologies (Click Here To Watch)

“The Non-Cartographic Uses and Implications of Globes in Early America”
Tamara Plakins Thornton, SUNY Buffalo 

“Putting Science to the Test: Initiating the World's Longest Unfortified Boundary"
David Spanagel, Worchester Polytechnic Institute  

“Finding the History of the World at the Bottom of the Ocean: Hydrography, Natural History, and the Sea in the Nineteenth Century"
Penelope Hardy, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse

Comment: Darin Hayton, Haverford College

2:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.: Coffee Break

2:45 p.m.–3:45 p.m.:  Panel 4: Indigenous Geographies (Click Here To Watch)

“Maps and Boundaries in the Native South: The Creation of an Interior South in Chickasaw County"
Jeffrey Washburn, University of Mississippi 

“Wielding the Power of Mapping: Cherokee Territoriality, Anglo-American Surveying, and the Creation of Borders in the Early Nineteenth-Century West"
Austin Stewart, Lehigh University  

“Thinking Multidimensionally: Cherokee Boundaries Above, Below, and Beyond"
Julie Reed, Pennsylvania State University 

Comment: Maggie Blackhawk, University of Pennsylvania

Dinner on one's own

Saturday, October 12

8:30 a.m.–9:15 a.m.: Conference Registration, Light Breakfast, and Coffee

9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m.: Welcome Remarks

9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.:  Panel 5: Contested Boundaries (Click Here To Watch)

“Clear Boundaries or Shared Territory: Chickasaw and Cherokee Resistance to American Colonization, 1792-1816"
Lucas Kelley, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 

“Elusive Hinlopen, or the Cape's role in protracting the boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland"
Agnès Trouillet, University of Paris

“Routes to the Pacific: Maps, Terraqueous Mobility, and American Westward Expansion, 1776-1849"
Sean Fraga, Princeton University

Comment: S. Max Edelson, University of Virginia

10:30 a.m.—11:00 a.m: Coffee Break

11:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.:  Panel 6: Beyond the Nation (Click Here To Watch)

“Strange Waters: The Transnational Origins of the First Coastal Survey of the United States of America"
Matthew Franco, College of William & Mary

“Canada in the Early Republic: Jedidiah Morse's Continental Geography"
Jeffers Lennox, Wesleyan University

“William Darby's Map of Louisiana and the Extension of American Sovereignty over the 'Neutral Ground' in the Louisiana-Texas Borderland, 1806-1821"
Jackson Pearson, Texas Christian University

Comment: Bethel Saler, Haverford College

12:00 p.m.–12:30 p.m. Wrap-Up Discussion

12:30 p.m.– Lunch and Departures

Conference papers are available for download to registered participants prior to the conference. You will be required to enter a password provided by conference organizers to access them.

Papers are not to be cited or circulated without the written permission of the author.

Register for "The Power of Maps and the Politics of Borders" through the link on the left-hand side of the page. Please indicate your name, address, institutional affiliation, and which days you plan to attend the conference. You will not receive a confirmation email but you should be directed to a confirmation message once you submit the form.

Please direct any questions to Adrianna Link at [email protected].

Old City Hotels:

There are several hotels within walking distance as well as many within a short ride by public transit, taxi, or Uber. Addresses and contact information are below. The hotels listed here represent accommodations in Old City, Philadelphia. There are many additional options in other areas of the city including Center City and Rittenhouse Square. Philadelphia is also served by Airbnb and other accommodation sharing sites.

Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel (Marriott)
401 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Reservations: 215-925-0000

Hotel Monaco (Kimpton)
433 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Reservations: 855-295-BELL
Hotel: 215-925-2111

Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District
400 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-923-8660

Philadelphia Marriott Old City (formerly the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill)
1 Dock Street (Between 2nd and Walnut Streets)
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-238-6000

Best Western The Independence Park Hotel
235 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-922-4443

Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia-E.Penns Landing
100 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19106
1-800-405-4329

APS Addresses: The symposium will take place in the APS’s Franklin Hall, located at 427 Chestnut Street. The Library is located at 105 South Fifth Street, and the APS Museum is housed across the street from the Library, in Philosophical Hall at 104 South Fifth Street.

Planes: The Philadelphia International Airport is 12 miles from the American Philosophical Society and is served by most major domestic and many international airlines. Philadelphia is a regional hub for American Airlines.

Ground Transportation from Airport: The airport is connected to Philadelphia through a network of public transit, rental cars, taxis, and private car services. In addition, Uber services can be booked for transport to and from the airport. More information on specific modes of transport can be found on the airport’s website.

Trains: Philadelphia has an Amtrak station and is on the busy Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. Both Northeast Regional and Acela trains stop at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. In addition, the Keystone, an east-west Amtrak route, stops several times a day in Philadelphia.

Automobiles: The American Philosophical Society is easily reached by I-95, 676, and the 76/Schuylkill Expressway.

Parking: There are several parking garages within a convenient distance from the APS. The Bourse Garage is the closest facility, at 4th and Ranstead Streets. Additionally, there are garages at the Independence Visitor Center and the National Constitution Center.

Buses: Many bus companies in the Northeast serve the Philadelphia area including Bolt Bus, Mega Bus, and Greyhound. Bolt Bus and Mega Bus arrive at 30th Street Station, which is a short ride away from the APS. The Greyhound station is between 12th and 13th Streets, just behind the Jefferson Station SEPTA stop.

Public Transportation in Philadelphia: The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is the major public transportation provider in the Philadelphia region. SEPTA runs Regional Rail lines through the city to the outlying suburbs and the airport. The Market-Frankford Line stops every couple of streets in Center City and runs out to West Philadelphia, by the University of Pennsylvania. SEPTA also runs trolley lines and buses throughout the city. Schedules, maps, fares, and additional information about the public transit system in Philadelphia can be found on their website.