Location: National Constitution Center, Philadelphia

Overview:

Although the American Revolution has received ample attention from the academic community over the years, historians continually find new and inventive ways to construct the narrative – agency and voice given to a wider cast of historical actors. Still, much of the work on this era, as well as demand from casual consumers of popular history, focuses on the founding fathers and their compelling biographies. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, among other such personalities, remain the most ubiquitous subjects of published work. We should not forget, however, that alongside these revolutionary heroes worked a number of more subdued, yet no less capable statesmen. One such neglected figure is John Morton, Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress and Speaker of the Provincial Assembly. We believe John Morton was a key player in the momentous political events of 1776; in addition he was an accomplished colonial legislator – active in the political culture of southeastern Pennsylvania for most of his life.

Unlike most other signers of the Declaration, John Morton’s ancestors were not immigrants from the British Isles. Morton was born to a family descended from the first settlers to arrive in the Delaware Valley, known then as New Sweden and home to many Finns. In a nation of immigrants, immigration history takes on vital importance, and the life story of a non-British founding father seems especially compelling.

Unfortunately, there has been relatively little biographical work done on John Morton, and treatment of the Finnish colonists of New Sweden is generally done in the genealogical vein. Our goal is to bring these two largely unexplored and closely related topics together in a productive and meaningful historical project.

Papers:
This call for papers has two stages: for the November meeting we call for abstracts of max. 500 words. After that meeting, writers are invited for actual papers. The abstracts should include a brief summary of any previous work done on John Morton, or any previous work that focused on events or political organs with which Morton was associated – Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, Stamp Act Congress, Continental Congress, etc. The author should provide a general description of the topic and focus of the proposed paper, including what sources the author believes are available for further research. Of keen interest are proposals focusing on John Morton and his Finnish heritage, his role and influence at the Continental Congress, and his impact on the vote for independence. Then, in light of this proposed work and a general knowledge of how scholarly projects progress, offer opinion as to the best course of action in bringing about a historical work on Morton, as well as the potential focus and form research on such a project might take. We encourage submissions from a variety of disciplines and welcome any perspective on this topic.

Submitted proposals will be distributed to members of an advisory board scheduled to meet November 10-12, 2008. This board consists of U.S. and Finnish historians, genealogists, diplomats, and other non-academic members with particular interest in this project. They will review these proposals and determine the subject matter of a future academic conference to be held next year or potential publication in the future.

The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2008.

Send submissions to:

Chase Butera
Ware Family Office
125B Lancaster Ave
Strasburg, PA 17579
Phone: (717) 405-8228
Fax: (717) 687-8561
cbutera@warefamilyoffice.com.