Monday
The exhibition opened at 9 am. There are far too many documents great and small to describe here however the displays followed a pattern. Nearly every prominent actor in the Continental Congress and the United States in Congress Assembled (under the Articles of Confederation) was represented. These included the fourteen presidents that preceded George Washington, traditional founders like Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, and historical foes like King George, III. From the very start it is clear that the Annapolis Continental Congress Society and its partners have a chip on their shoulder. Wordy signs displayed in low light, presumably to protest the integrity of the documents, seem to vigorously defend the integrity of this separate and little told or understood two decades of American history.
Once, while I was looking at a display case filled with commemorative coins that looked like a hypothetical "Continental Congress Presidents" series for quarters that replaced the Washington's face, lecturer and co-organizer Stan Klos—a large man who played basketball in the 1970s—ushered a small bearded man into the same room. “Here,” he pointed at the display near me. “U-S-C-A” he emphasized each letter. I smiled to myself; earlier, without previously seeing that abbreviation, I nevertheless quickly realized it meant “United States in Congress Assembled.”
“You see,” Stan emphasized, “this is the proper name of the congress under the confederation. That’s why calling it part of the ‘Continental Congress’ is so bizarre…” Later, during the Q&A portion of a lecture concerning Annapolis’ selection as the seat of congress in 1783, he asked a leading question that inspired the sympathetic speaker to agree and reassure the audience that ‘USCA’ was more correct.
At 9:30 the festival began with the “town crier,” one of the dozen costumed volunteers who give tours of Annapolis’ historic government buildings, announced the opening and Tom Callinan (in period dress) did a full rendition of “Yankee Doodle.” The Mayor of Annapolis Josh Cohen and State Archivist Ed Papenfuse ceremoniously opened the event. The full remarks can be read on his official blog here. He elaborated on the historical context of the festival:“While I appreciate fully the importance of paying closer attention to the lessons of the Congresses held between 1774 and 1789, it would be remiss of me not to point out that the beginnings of concerted cooperative efforts among the colonies to formulate joint public policy and resist imperial rule from afar can be traced back to at least 1765, the Stamp Act Congress, and Daniel Dulany's pamphlet written and published in Annapolis.”
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| Dr. Papenfuse, Maryland's State Archivist |
Two weeks ago I sat in on the Hall of Records Commission meeting. It is always good to see how an organization of this scale is managed (the catering helps) but I also learned that Dr. Papenfuse enjoys linking contemporary events with historic dates. Commission meetings fall on or near important dates and, although the Continental Congress Festival did not apparently fall on such a date, he nevertheless emphasized September 17th. On that date in 1774 the First Continental Congress adopted the Massachusetts resolves against the Coercive Acts, which had punished the colony horribly for the Boston Tea Party. On that date in 1787 the Philadelphia Convention ratified the new constitution with a final revision “that changed the nature of representation in the House from one member of congress for every 40,000 people to one member for every 30,000,” a motion made by Marylander Daniel Carroll. Preceding the session about Annapolis as the seat of government, Tom Callinan sang an original piece written specifically for the event. “One for all, all for one,” the refrain began, “four republics made us one/ Fifteen men from Peyton Randolph, to George Washington/ presided o’er our fledgling nation, Revolution through Constitution/ the more, or less, United States...”
Tuesday
I left work early at 1 o’clock to attend St. Mary’s College of Maryland associate political science professor Dr. Michael Cain’s lecture on the USCA’s efforts to quell Shays’ Rebellion from 1786-87. Even though the bend of pre-Constitutional historical scholarship leans conservative, Dr. Cain was not sparing in his criticism of the ineffectual handling of the rebellion. Using the beloved teaching tool the "Prisoner’s Dilemma" he outlined how Congress’ non-coercive taxing authority, essentially a proportional billing system to states for Congress’ spending, incentivized non-payment by states. Like on Monday someone asked a leading question about the appropriateness of calling the United States in Congress Assembled part of the Continental Congress. Dr. Cain's brilliant reply was, essentially, "If people called it the Confederation Congress, people would be thinking of 1861 instead of 1781.",
Afterwards, me and my colleague David Armenti talked with him at length about our shared skepticism of this taxing method. I mused what would happen if Congress had coercive powers but the billing mechanics remained at the state level: States may default and file for federal bankruptcy protection or, if they simply refused to pay, be invaded by the national government.
The 3:30 lecture by Stan Klos concerned the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The importance and facts of the ordinance were not new to me since I am from Minnesota; the portion in which I was born belonged to Louisiana Purchase territory but I pretend to ignore that fact. The highlights of the session were the two songs bookending the lecture. Tom Callinan opened with a song about Marylander John Hanson who, in 1781, cast the deciding vote adopting the Articles of Confederation on the condition that states cede the rights to western lands. This selfish action—Maryland had no western land claims—set the Northwest Ordinance into motion; the territories were to be states in waiting rather than colonies of the states. Hanson was President of the United States in Congress Assembled that November. He became, as Tom put it, “the first forgotten president to serve a one year term.” At the urging of Klos, Tom closed the session with a song about who is entitled to the distinction of being the first president of the United States. Samuel Huntington was President when the Articles were enforced; he resigned due to ill health in July, 1781. Thomas McKean succeeded him on the condition that he could leave in October to resume his duties as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. On November 4th, the constitutionally mandated start of the presidential term, John Hanson of Maryland was sworn in. The singer did not take a sides concerning who deserved the prestigious distinction as the “first President of the United States,” but simply stated that the answer "depends on who’s [your state’s] favorite son.”
Wednesday
On Wednesday morning the co-organizer and document collector Seth Kaller gave a fascinating lecture on the iterations of the various editions of the Declaration of Independence printed in the summer of 1776. Through diplomatic analysis he built a new timeline of its publishing that indicates two heretofore unknown manuscript versions sent to printers. These manuscripts were written by Adams and Jefferson. Although Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration, Adams’ copy was disseminated across the colonies. Jefferson’s was confined to a local Philadelphia press.
The session following this one involved food and drink. Peter Martino, President of Capital Teas talked about the beverage's place in colonial America. He shared canisters containing two varieties of the tea thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party and devoted small portions of his talk dispelling bad history or quantifying the act. My favorite examples were his insistence that the tea was loose, not bricked, and that tea-shipping containers could be heavier or lighter depending on the fluffiness of the variety. Another speaker explained colonial diet, cooking practices, and gave away samples of colonial recipe ice cream, cider, and cheese.
New Responsibility
At the weekly meeting of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland research project my supervisor Emily shared that Dr. Papenfuse expressed an interest in a particular newspaper and its printer. With the Rocky and Bullwinkle-esque name “The Carrolltonian, or Spirit of Seventy-Six” and published in Annapolis by the printerWilliam M’Neir from 1826-1829, it interested him to know if it was related to a newspaper published some time later in the newly created Carroll county. I spent most of Thursday and Friday researching M’Neir using secondary sources on site, primary sources here and online, and the great assistance of former Maryland State Archives employee and professional researcher Jane McWilliams. Mr. M’Neir seems to be a suitable example for my typical case study research methodologies—but I’ll talk about that next time.
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| An archaeological dig that unearthed a midden used by the Calvert family. On display from the dig were buttons, buckles, shoe soles, and even fine ceramic dishware |
Alex Robert Champion, MLIS
The HistoryMakers Fellowship--
Mentoring, Training and Placement Institute
1900 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
&
Maryland State Archives
350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, MD
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